Lord of Foxes
by Mightyena's Shadow
Summary: AU: Naruto's life changes when he decides to follow a playful fox one day. He stumbles across a room and scroll that will change his life. Follow Naruto as he takes the path of the Kitsune and carves out his own place in his world with friends, rivals and enemies around every corner. Light NaruHina. Violence/Language. I do not own Naruto at all, in any way.
1. Following a Fox

**Hey guys and welcome to my sneak peak of my newest fanfic, Lord of Foxes. This is my first shot at a Naruto fanfic and I am really excited for it although it may be rough to begin with I hope that you, my wonderful readers, will be patient and enjoy the ride.**

 **Some things to start off with: this is AU so it is going to go off cannon in some instances while attempting to weave parts of cannon into the story line. There won't be too much character bashing but definitely different characters will be pushed to the back of the story and let others shine as it were. I also haven't decided on a pairing and right now I am leaning towards the cliche of Hinata who I really like as a character. I was thinking Anko but I wanted to go in a different direction with that character.**

 **Sorry I'm rambling. Anyways this is a preview and no new chapters will be posted until my first fanfic, Battles of the Past, is finished. If you haven't read it go ahead and give it a try and tell me what you think. As it always is please feel free to review with whatever you have in mind. Likes, dislikes, advice, criticisms or just your thoughts in general.**

 **Now, sit back, relax and enjoy Lord of Foxes!**

 **Chapter 1**

The summer sun began to set, as Konoha was being painted orange as another beautiful day ended in the ninja village. The sound of people communing with one another in shops, restaurants and the streets filled the evening air. It was a day that for all intents and purposes was perfect. The heat of the day began to settle into pleasant warmth with a slight breeze that tickled the skin of those that called the village their home.

To say the village was in its prime wasn't far to off from reality. With the Sandaime Hokage still in power they continued to enjoy the continued stabilization that came with his chair. They were three years removed from the devastation of the Uchiha Massacre and were once again a top the Elemental Nations. A new alliance with Suna aided in that cause while maintaining its borders with Iwa and Kumo. Kiri had long since been an after thought, still in the midst of civil unrest.

To many, life couldn't get much better. But as it usually is that is not always the case for everyone.

Outside the gate, in the various training grounds that dotted the vast and thick forest of Hi no Kuni a rhythmical thumping could be heard with the occasional grunt and groan. It wasn't uncommon for the various noises to be heard, after all they were in a ninja village, it was a good sign for the sounds of training to be heard. But these sounds were not of youthful vigor or determined resolve.

In an old run down training ground that had all but been forgotten stood a young boy of ten years old. His spiky blond hair running wild, a perfect match for his deep blue eyes that shined when shown with his ever-present smile. Three whisker marks adorned each cheek. He wore blue shorts and a once white t-shirt, permanently stained a dingy yellow from years of use, with a red swirl on the chest. He wore old, rotten sandals he had found in the dumpster, they were a bit big but he wouldn't complain. Uzumaki Naruto just did what he always did: make the best with what he had and pushed onwards with a smile on his face.

Yet there was no smile today, not a trace of joy in his blue eyes or youthful energy in his posture. With every thrown kunai and shuriken his shoulders slumped just a little more. With every deflected weapon that didn't embed itself in the target that was pinned to a tree trunk his annoyance and frustration grew. Hours he had spent practicing throwing his weapons, but if one of the academy instructors were to come and watch they would say he hadn't improved one bit.

His hands shaking, Naruto reached for another Kunai on the ground. He knelt down and grasped the handle before rising on wobbly legs. A sudden spasm wrecked his hand that grasped the knife. His knees hit the ground as the knife fell out of his hand. He lurched forward and barely caught himself with his hands extended in front of him.

A feeling of nausea hit him. His head moved towards the ground as he began to dry heave, the none existent contents of his stomach attempting an escape. His eyes watered as the pain racked his body. Had he had anything in his stomach he would have no doubt been coating the forest floor in vomit. As it was he hadn't eaten since yesterday and he wouldn't be able to buy instant ramen for another two days when his measly monthly stipend came in. If he was lucky he may be able to scrounge a meal from Ichiraku's Ramen from the kind people who managed the shop.

The racking of his body from dry heaving began to be replaced by the gasps of air as he began to sob, the emotional and physical strain he was feeling finally breaking the mask he painstakingly erected. The summer was always the worst for the poor boy. His loneliness that he felt only enhanced by the missed attention of his academy teachers. He would never admit it but he loved going to the academy because it made him feel like he had friends, people that actually cared about him. His favorite moments spent with the few classmates that didn't openly despise him, but during the summer those few connections, as weak as they were, didn't exist.

He clasped his hand into fists as his nails dug into the ground. He sobs began to die down before turning into a low growl. He brought his fists up above his head before screaming and hitting them on the ground. Why was he always treated like he didn't exist? Why did he always here people calling him names like 'demon brat' or 'monster' behind his back when they thought he couldn't hear them? Why did all of the parents of the kids his age refuse him the chance to play with their children? Why wouldn't any shopkeeper ever treat him fairly? Why was he all alone? Why?

He wasn't an idiot. He knew that his teachers weren't giving him the adequate lessons he should be getting. He knew he got the worst materials they had to offer, whether it be textbooks, kunai, ninja wire, you name it. He knew he was the dead last because his teachers continually under marked him during their grading. He wasn't stupid; he just never got the chance. And that's all he ever wanted.

A chance to feel like he belonged, like people cared about him outside of the Old Man and the people at Ichiraku's. He wanted to be seen and not just ignored, to be heard rather than scoffed at and be called a nuisance or trash. He wanted to find a place in this world yet whenever he tried he was meant with same response: cold indifference.

His body finally gave out on him as he finally collapsed onto the ground. His vision quickly caught the faint movement of a small orange creature before finally going black and passing out.

•••••

Naruto groaned as a ray of sunlight danced across his face, waking him from his deep slumber. He sat himself up to find that again he was not sore. It was always a trait that confused him; no matter how hard he trained he never once woke up the next morning sore. He shrugged it off and looked around his room before sighing and moving toward the bathroom.

The ANBU, whoever the operative was, had taken him back to his apartment and set him on his bed after he had collapsed with all his kunai and shuriken gathered on his kitchen table. It wasn't the first time it had happened and the last time he had seen it was a man wearing a dog mask with peculiar silver hair. Naruto's shoulders again dropped as he looked around his small apartment.

The small apartment wasn't much but it was home. The entry way led straight to a small kitchen and living area, empty ramen cups strewed across the floor. A small kitchen table with two rickety old chairs was in the middle of room with an old, beat up couch that was under the window that gave a view of the Hokage Monument and parts of the village. There was a single hallway with a door on either side, one to his bedroom and the other to the bathroom.

What it lacked in size and new appliances, Naruto had tried to make up for in a sense of coziness. On the walls were posters from a few past Princess Gale movies along with a poster of his idol, the Yondaime Hokage, which he had found. On the window ceil were a few potted plants that he took great care of for a boy his age. It wasn't much but for Naruto it was home. If he could ask for anything else it would be someone to greet him when he came home, a fantasy he often played out his head.

He was woken from his thought as a small yawn came from his couch. He leaned his head out from the hallway with a curious look on his face. His eyes widened as he saw a small orange fox lying on the couch. Curled into a ball. The little fox perked up as Naruto took a step forward. Naruto froze as he stared into the yellow, slitted eyes of the tiny creature. The fox had a beautiful orange coat with black paws and ears. Its predominantly orange tail was tipped with a black spot. Its underbelly was pure white that ran up to its chin and lower part of its head.

The two stared at each other for what felt like hours before the corners of the fox's mouth turned slightly upwards in what looked like a grin as its tail began to dance playfully behind it. It gave a happy yip before jumping off the couch and scurrying to Naruto. It sat on its hide legs and peered up at the boy, all the while its tail swayed to and fro behind its body.

Naruto slowly bent down, trying not to spook the little guy, although if one were to behold the spectacle they would say Naruto was the one that looked spooked. He stuck his hand out only for the fox to move its head backwards a bit, a motion Naruto mirrored. The fox cocked its head to the side before hesitantly moving forward putting its head into the palm of the whiskered boy's hand. Naruto began to scratch the top of the curious creature and was responded with what sounded like a purr of content.

Naruto's hesitant look was quickly replaced with a beaming smile. He moved his hand to underneath the fox's chin, continuing to scratch. The fox's only response was to extend its chin and its unusual grin to grow. It closed its eyes in pure ecstasy from the treatment it was getting. After a bit Naruto stopped and stood up, much to the little creature's annoyance.

Naruto smiled down at the disgruntled orange animal. "Sorry little guy but I have to take a shower." Naruto honestly thought he was in a dream and still on the forest floor. A cold shower to shock him out of his dreams or if it really was his dreams then he might enjoy a hot one instead.

Much to his surprise the water was biting cold. He quickly took his shower before jumping out and drying off. He opened the door and looked down to see the same fox sitting at his feet, its tail moving lazily behind it. Naruto just shook his head. How did a fox get in his apartment?

He moved to the bedroom where he changed into the same shirt and shorts from yesterday. He didn't have many clothes, enough for three days worth, so he usually reused clothes for a few weeks before going and washing them in a river somewhere.

The room was beginning to heat up with the ever-rising temperature outside. To alleviate the issue he went to the window. He unlatched the window before lifting it up. He turned around when he heard a yip only to see the orange fox dash in front of him and jump out the window. Naruto gasped while trying to grab the fox but he was too late. He looked out the window for his eyes to widen. At the base of the building sat the orange fox who was peering up at him with a playful grin. It gave a yip and motioned with its head as if to say 'follow me'.

Naruto paused for a minute before shaking his head and jumping off his couch. He stumbled across the room where he quickly put his sandals on. He grabbed the keys to his apartment and tore out of the building. He came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs panting heavily. He looked around before his eyes found the fox once again. The fox gave another yip before turning on its heals and running away.

"Hey wait for me," Naruto yelled before pursuing the orange animal.

To Naruto's credit, he managed to stay within view of the orange animal as he ducked and dodged through various streets and alleyways. Naruto ducked and dodged various food carts, vendors and civilians as he chased the fox across the town to the annoyance of those around. Finally the fox seemed to be pleased with the street it was running across as they maintained their direction until they were outside the gates of Konoha.

The little fox didn't slow down and neither did Naruto as they began going deeper and deeper into the forests of Konoha. Naruto turned a corner and suddenly lost sight of his fury friend. Panting and gasping for breath, he hunched over and put his hand on his knees. He groaned as he thought about the potential friend he had lost before hearing the very recognizable yip of the fox.

He looked up to see the fox poke his head out from behind a tree. With another yip and motion of its head it vanished. Naruto muttered under his breath about foxes being stupid before grudgingly following the animal. He had gone this far, might as well finish what he started.

He turned the corner of the tree and suddenly found himself in a small clearing. The sunlight bathed the beautiful clearing. Naruto looked around and noticed the various wild flowers that dotted the landscape, each in a different color that seemed to give the clearing a vibrancy of life he hadn't seen before. Naruto saw a familiar splash of orange. His eyes moved to his small fox friend before suddenly widening and moving upwards.

In the very middle of the small clearing was a giant oak tree, its trunk, thick and sturdy, showing its long life while its limps seemed to weave in and out of each other creating a maze of wood dotted with beautiful, green leafs that seemed to shine as if coated with fresh morning due in the sunlight. The presence of the tree was of warm age. Like a father staring down at his children, the tree promised protection, warmth and wisdom.

Naruto finally let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. His eyes moved from the large tree back down to his orange clad companion who wore a mischievous grin. Again the young fox tilted its head before walking to the base of the tree and vanishing. Naruto followed. As he approached, he noticed the roots of the trees came up from the ground and tangling producing a small hole underneath. He heard the young fox's excited yip come from beneath.

He lowered himself onto the ground and slid himself backwards into the hole. He was surprised when at first it couldn't feel a bottom. About half-way up his chest his toes finally seemed to find hard ground just as the blades of grass he had been grasping on to broke.

He landed on his but with a thud. He coughed and waved the dust away that arose from his encounter from gravity and picked himself up. He brushed his clothes off before suddenly freezing in place.

He was standing perfectly straight? But how could that be? Finally he took a look around his environment and gasped at what he saw. He was standing in a large room, larger than what seemed to be the size of the tree. The walls were barely seen as shelves upon shelves of scrolls, manuscripts and books filled them to the point that whoever had taken care of the place had to resort to placing scrolls in the corners of the room of the ground.

The middle of the room was a circle of five chairs, each more extravagant, yet simple at the same time, than Naruto had ever seen before. In the middle of the chairs stood a small coffee table with a small statue of a fox in a crouch. Above was crystal chandelier that shone brightly and illuminated the room in a warm, bright light. A few desks lined the various shelves, each with their own chair and lamp. The floor of the room was clad in an intricate deep red carpet with various patterns that effortlessly flowed from one to the next as if they had been painted by a single brush stroke.

Naruto had barely noticed this. What had truly caught his attention was the wall furthest from the entrance. Adorning the wall were weapons upon weapons, some of which Naruto had never seen. Katana, tanto, shuriken, kunai,quarter-staffs, pikes and many more lined the wall. Each made of the finest quality steel, fabric and materials that shown brightly with detailed engravings where steel was shown.

But the best was in the middle of the wall. In the middle rested a platform with a stone table resting against the wall. On this table lay a orange scroll tied with a black cloth in the middle. The scroll was bigger than any Naruto had seen before. Above the scroll was the katana that truly caught Naruto's eye. The handle was pitch black, the cloth wrapped expertly starting at the silver tip of the handle and running to the hilt. The hilt was replace with a silver depiction of a fox's head on either side, their mouths open. From their mouths came he blade, its metal shining brighter then any weapon on the wall. Black engravings danced from the foxes' mouths as if they were spitting flames that died away a quarter of the way above the blade.

Naruto felt his legs slowing caring him to the platform on their own, his orange companion sitting happily besides the stone table of the platform. He couldn't describe it, the pull the scroll and the weapon had on him. It was like a faint voice calling to him, not a chilling voice, but a warm, soft voice like that of a mother.

Finally he came to the table. He slowly moved his hands to grab the scroll, but stopped, as he was about to grab it. Hadn't he read something at the academy about enemy ninjas booby-trapping precious information or weapons? This was clearly important, Naruto was no idiot.

He began to look over the scroll and table, careful not to disturb anything. He saw no signs of wires or explosive tags, he could find no evidence of holes in the walls or floors that could be used to release senbon or poisonous gas either.

He heard a yip and looked down. His compatriot looked back up, a look of frustration and impatience adorning his features. His brows furrowed and head tilted as he looked up to Naruto. He gave a soft growl and yip as if to say 'well, what are you waiting for?'

Naruto reached back to the scroll and again paused before another yip shook him from the hesitation. He looked down and gave the fox a look of annoyance. "Alright, alright I'm going. Don't rush me you stupid fox," he said with a huff.

He reached without hesitation and took hold of the scroll. He lifted it and was surprised that it took no physical strain at all to lift the large scroll. He took a better look at the scroll and could read the kanji for 'kitsune' spelled out the long way across the scroll.

"What is this?"

 **"This is the summoning contract of the Kitsune."**


	2. Of Voices and Kitsune

**Hey guys and welcome back to Lord of Foxes! I am excited to say that I have finished my first fanfic, Battles of the Past, and am now going to be splitting my time between this story and my newest Pokemon fanfic. I still want to get out a chapter a week and if not two because, frankly, writing has become an outlet for me and I really enjoy it. Anyways, getting back on track, please feel free to review this fic with your likes, dislikes, advice you may have or just your thoughts in general. I love feedback.**

 **One more thing before we get started! I want to use Japanese names for jutsu used in the fic but I don't know where to go to get the Latin letters of Japanese words. I tried Google Translate and it only came up with kanji. If you guys know anywhere I could find this type of translator please PM with site. It would be really helpful and thanks!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2**

 **"This is the summoning contract of the Kitsune."**

Naruto screamed and proceeded to drop the scroll like it was on fire. He fell to the ground, landing on his butt, before quickly scurrying backwards, eyes never leaving the scroll. He felt his heart thump in his chest, attempting to break through his rib cage.

The voice he heard was unlike anything he ever imagined. It was a deep, guttural sound, harsh with no sense of warmth. Something seemed unnatural about it, inhuman.

Naruto shook his head. He darted up; his head snapping around the room looking for any other signs of life besides the little fox who was again looking at him with a face filled with confusion. "Who's there?" he stammered out.

 **"That is of no concern,"** the voice responded. It seemed to reverberate around the room but again Naruto could see nothing.

"Like hell it is," Naruto exclaimed. "Where are you? Come out right now or else." His idle threats were met with a hearty laugh. Naruto's eyes strained to see any movements in the shadows of the room but to no avail.

 **"Or else what Kit? I have seen how you are. You couldn't scare a new born baby deer,"** the voice said before laughing again. There was nothing pleasant about the laugh, its very sound made the hairs across Naruto's body stand on age. **"Now go ahead and sign the contract already."**

"Why should I listen to you?" the blond retorted.

 **"Because Kit, I am far more knowledgeable than you will ever be. I have seen great shinobi rise and fall. I have seen empires vanish as fast as they were established. There is little that has escaped my senses,"** the voice answered. **"Now sign the contract."**

"How do I know you won't trick me?"

 **"Fool!"** the voice roared like an animal on the hunt. **"I am the one that has kept you safe from illness and injury. When your body is exhausted upon all its limits, I am the one that gives you energy. When sickness threatens to hinder you, I treat you and keep you healthy. I have done all this so why then should you not listen to me now?"**

Naruto paused at this response. That would explain why he never was sick, even when the rest of his class got the chicken pox last year he seemed to be perfectly immune. He never was seriously injured, minus a few scrapes but those always vanished the next day. Suddenly a thought ran through Naruto's mind and he grew defiant.

"Bullshit."

 **"Excuse me?"**

"You heard me," Naruto stated. "I call bullshit."

There was a pause before the voice finally responded with a new air of amusement in its sound. **"And why is that Kit?"**

"If you truly cared about me then you wouldn't have hid in the darkness all these years," he shouted, tears beginning to accumulate in his eyes. "I could have had someone by me when I was alone in my cold apartment on holiday nights when I could see the lights of other houses where people enjoyed warmth and happiness. Me? I was always alone. If it's true that you have been seeing me and taking care of me then you would have never let that happen to me in the first place. That is why I call bullshit."

 **"It is true. I could care less whether you live or die. I feel that way about all you humans. You are the wretch of the earth. The vile race that has destroyed the gifts Kami has given and for what? Wealth, power and lust. All things that you enjoy for a few years before you die. If I had my way the entire human race would have long since vanished."**

"Then why help me?" Naruto asked.

 **"Because you intrigue me Kit. There has only been one human I have ever truly had respect and admiration for,"** the voice responded. **"With that said over the years upon years since then I have not come across as a . . . promising human as you Kit. Understand I still hate all human kind, but you I hate a little less. You have not earned my respect Kit, but you intrigue me."**

Naruto chewed on the conversation up to this point. His mind wandering over the words before something finally caught his attention, a red flag of sorts.

"Wait," he began slowly, "you've said you've lived along time, outliving empires in fact. That means you have to be ancient." There was an indignant grunt at the mention of age. "If that is true then what are you? I've never heard of something that can live for that long."

 **"Do not worry about the minor details Kit. Your kind worries too much about the details and fail to see the bigger picture. Too many wars and battles could have been avoided if you glorified monkeys thought and talked less. For now consider me your guardian angel."**

"My guardian angel?"

 **"Yes and if you want answers you'll get them later. Now sign the damn contract!"**

"How do I do that?" Naruto took the scroll back in his hands and examined it again. He had heard about summoning contracts in class but it was said that different contracts were signed different ways. Some used weapons, others blood and still others used seals.

 **"For the love of Kami Kit."** Naruto could hear mutterings from the voice. Finally there was an exasperated sigh. **"Open the contract and prick your fingers. Make sure there is a lot of blood. Sign the contract as it is shown by the others and then put the fingerprints of your right hand at the bottom. I swear Kit the human race gets dumber with every generation."**

"Hey I resent that!" Naruto answered back. "I'm only ten and the academy barely went over summoning contracts only saying the different types and that they were really powerful. They never actually taught us how to sign one."

 **"Whatever Kit. Now sign the damn contract already. Once that is done then I will leave the rest for the Kitsune. I will see you later Kit. In the meantime just don't die. I haven't been this intrigued since . . . Fuck, since a long time."**

With that Naruto could tell the voice had vanished and he was alone again. Well besides the small fox he had followed. Naruto looked to see the fox dancing around happily around the now opened scroll. Naruto sighed before biting on his thumb. He could taste the metallic flavor of his own blood. He looked at the very few names that were written on the other parts of the scroll. He began to write his name as the others had. Finally satisfied with the scribble he attempted to pass off as his name, he dotted the ends of his other fingers with the remaining blood and put the five points at the bottom of the scroll.

He lifted his fingers and expected something yet nothing happened. He looked around in confusion. The voice had made it seem like something or someone would appear but that didn't seem to be the case. He was about to move the scroll back onto the table, thinking it was just a cruel prank, before a burst of smoke covered the scroll and him.

Naruto coughed as he waved his hands in front of his face, his lungs burning from the smoke. It was worse then when he passed the clan compound of the chain smoking Sarutobi. He always hated when the Old Man smoked in front of him but he never really complained in fear of making one of the few people who treated him nice mad at him.

The smoke cleared and Naruto began to rub his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the irritation. He could feel a few tears fall and brushed them off. He heard an excited yip and turned to the sound. When he opened his eyes he found himself nose-to-snout with an abnormally large silver fox. The fox looked unimpressed, as it seemed to size up the young ninja in training.

"I told you I found someone that the scroll would accept," Naruto heard a happy voice of a wild sounding boy say. He turned to see the same fox he had followed looking happily up at the duo. "I knew he would pass Kaa-chan and since I found him that makes me his personal summons!"

Naruto's only response was his jaw hitting the floor. He was shocked speechless. The same damned fox he had followed could talk? Since when? What was this about being a personal summons and the fox calling this . . . other fox, he didn't think it was a fox at all, its mother? Naruto could feel his brain overload and the smoke begin to billow out of his ears. If this was a prank then it sure was a damned good one. He'd have to find the person responsible and ask them to teach him. He wanted his pranks to be this good!

"Silence Ishiri," the silver fox said. Her voice was filmed with power and superiority but at the same time had a warm and comforting tone. Naruto took another look at the imposing creature before him. He was only ten but he could tell the vixen before him was larger than she should have been. She had to be close to five feet in length, if not longer. Her tail and paws matched her supposed child's but the rest was noticeably different. Her coat was a beautiful grey color and was accented by the darkness of the black fur on her snout and ears. Dark yellow eyes with black slits seemed to stare through Naruto.

Naruto could feel every muscle in his body tense, his quads twitching, preparing to run as fast as he could but her eyes kept him rooted in place. The silver vixen began to pace slowly around the whiskered boy, her eyes never leaving him. Naruto stared straight ahead, taking a fascination with a speck on the wall. He noticed there was no padding sound, no swish of the tail. She moved silently, not a sound coming from her figure before finally plopping down on the ground in front of him.

"Breath little one." Naruto gasped when he felt air come back into his lungs. He had been holding his breath for who knows how long. "You show potential summoner."

"Wh-What?" Naruto managed to squeak out.

"Speak up," the large fox barked as she looked down on the small boy in front of her. "You are now the holder of the Kitsune Clan contract. We do not speak so softly. Speak with pride."

"I-I-I . . . I'm what?" Naruto stammered.

"You're my summoner now," the small orange fox yipped with happiness. "That means you can summon me anytime you want, along with other members of clan if need be, but we won't need them! We'll go on missions and sneak through the sha . . ."

"Enough Ishiri." The larger silver fox cut off the small fox's ramblings. The large fox again turned her eyes to Naruto. A business like aura began to come off of her. "You are now the holder of the Kitsune Clan Contract, the summoner and Lord of Foxes. Your predecessors were known as lethal shinobi capable of bringing armies to their knees from the shadows; their names spoken in hush tones around campfires. Generations have past since a summoner has walked this earth and now it is your turn to take up this mantel."

Naruto sat in silence, stunned at hearing the words that were coming from the vixen's mouth. His mind racing he could only come up with a single question. "Why me?"

"Because of who you are," the silver fox answered. "Our last summer was an Uzumaki as were many before him. They were strong, their chakra alluring to us, and their willpower far exceeding those that claimed the rank of ninja. You make your ancestors proud for you embody those traits."

"M-My ancestors?" Naruto felt his breath being taken away. He thought he came from an insignificant family, one that had no influence. In his wildest dreams he never thought that he would have a clan. "I have a clan?"

"Had young one," there was a hint of remorse in the fox's voice. "They have long since been eradicated or dispersed among the nations. Their jutsus and abilities were seen as a threat, a threat that could be easily dealt with."

Naruto sat on the ground feeling his legs begin to fail him. He felt his mind begin to short circuit and he could almost feel the smoke pour out of his ears. He regrouped when he saw the concern look on the smaller fox's face. So this was his personal summons? Would he grow as big as his mother? The large fox seemed to read his mind.

"Ishiri will grow as long as you do as well." Naruto gave the fox a confused look before continuing. "His growth is determined on your bond. As your bond grows and you improve your skills then so will he. You two will forever be intertwined, a bond to not be taken lightly."

"But I'm not a great ninja," Naruto answered. "I can't even throw a kunai right." His look became even more dejected.

"You are still young it is to be expected," the calm, nonchalant sound of the voice did little to encourage Naruto. "You will grow stronger of that we will ensure."

"We?"

"Do you think that the Kitsune Clan would not train their summoners?" The vixen scoffed at the idea. "No, you will be trained in the way of our clan, our ways. You will learn to work in the shadows, to walk among the enemy without raising even a hint of suspicion. Your clan's jutsus and many more will be at your disposal. Look around," she said as she gestured to the many shelves in the room, "these are jutsus and other techniques written by our former summoners and other kitsune as they have gone through the world."

Naruto's face-splitting grin returned with force as he looked around. "All these scrolls are full of jutsus? Awesome." Naruto jumped to his feet and attempted to run to the nearest shelf only for a tail to stop him and ease him back in front of the vixen.

"Slow down summoner," the fox said with an amused ring in her voice. "You must learn to walk before you can run. They will be at your disposal in due time, for now your training will focus on the basics, chakra control, stealth and basic weaponry."

"That's no fun." This time it was Ishiri who voiced his disappointment. "If we are going to a kick-ass combo then we have to learn the biggest and best jutsu possible!" Naruto stood next to his new partner and voiced his agreement.

The large vixen chuckled at the sight. "You two were definitely made for each other. Both stubborn and as knuckleheaded as the other." She sighed when she saw the fake pouts the duo put on. They were going to be a handful; she could already feel the future headaches the new partners were going to create for her and her kinsmen. "If it is jutsu you want then I suggest you listen to your new senseis and work hard, especially on chakra control. Especially you Ishiri, yours is pitiful, no jutsu will work unless you have proper control. You sure that up, the both of you, and then you can begin jutsu training. Deal?"

The pair blinked their eyes before turning to the other. A small grin appeared on both their faces, an unheard conversation quickly taking place. They turned to the silver fox with smiles. "Deal," they said in unison.

"Good now I suggest that you both get a good night's sleep. You will need. I expect both of you to show up here at the same time tomorrow to begin your training," the large fox said. "I will leave the rest of the day to you two to enjoy each other's company. Do not train, take today to relax and bond. Understood?" Satisfied with the responses she smiled a more motherly smile at the two. "Now that is settle I will leave you two."

"Wait what about this place?" Naruto asked as he gestured to the large room at the base of the tree. "Aren't you worried someone will come in here and steal everything?"

"Of course not summoner," the vixen brushed the question off as if it were obvious. "The tree is hidden by genjutsu and seals keep those would-be intruders out. Consider this your sanctuary summoner, but be warned. Do not bring outsiders here unless there is no choice. As you said the Kitsune Library is something coveted by ninja across the world."

"Before you go what is your name?"

The large silver fox looked down on the young boy and smiled warmly at him. "My name is Luna and it has been a pleasure to meet you Naruto-chan." With that the fox vanished into a puff of smoke.

Naruto smiled before looking down at the small orange fox below him. He was seated on his haunches and gazing up at him. Naruto knelt down and scratched the fox under the chine, eliciting the same response as before.

"We are gonna be the best duo anyone has every seen," Ishiri managed to say between purrs of satisfaction.

"Believe it!"

•••••

Naruto lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Today had to have been the best in his entire young life. He had gained an awesome summons contract, but more importantly he gained a friend and a chance.

He looked to the foot of the bed where Ishiri was curled up in an orange ball against his leg. He had to admit that the two seemed like the perfect pair. The young fox had bondless energy and seemed to be the mischievous type. They had managed to 'borrow' some meat from one of the butchers in town. Naruto had distracted the butcher while Ishiri had snuck in the back and poached the prized meat before scurrying out unnoticed. They had laughed as the enjoyed the spoils of their little heist and recounted tails of other mischief they had come across in their early lives.

Naruto had known the little guy for less than a day but already he felt a bond as if they were brothers. He smiled. He finally felt the warmth of a true friend while curling up in his old bed at night instead of the pangs of loneliness.

He thoughts turned a bit darker when he recounted the conversation he had with Luna and that strange voice. He would ask the large vixen about it next time he saw her. Right now he was more curious about the type of training he would be going through, the thought making him a little jittery. He peered back down when he heard a muttering from the sleeping orange fox.

His life had certainly taken an interesting turn.


	3. Training with the Foxes

**Hey guys! I am really excited to get into the meatier parts of this story and specifically Naruto's development and growth mini-arc. This should take about 2 or 3 chapters. This one is a quick overview and more details will be coming through flashbacks. I hope you guys like it.**

 **Like always please feel free to review with your likes, dislikes, advice on how I can improve my writing or just your thoughts in general. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3**

Naruto held his breath. He examined the surrounding forest from his hiding spot. He had chosen a bush that rest in the middle of two large trees. The dead leaves covered the underside of the bush while low hanging branches covered the top. His eyes shifted across the ground, looking for anything that might resemble his opponent.

He took a deep breath in before exhaling in a sigh of relief. His relief was short lived however. A creek of a tree branch and a quick peak upwards caused Naruto to freeze. Above him was the toothy grin of a predator, one who loved the chase for the chase itself and the kill for the sheer pride in it.

Naruto bounded out of his hiding place, taking off like a bat out of hell. The predator just smirked, giving his prey a 'fair' head start before bounding off after him.

Naruto ran across the forest floor before jumping into the trees and bounding from limb to limb. He could here his pursuer's every footstep as it drew closer. His heart began to relentlessly pound in his chest, attempting to break free of his rib cages that acted as its prison.

He continued on for a few minutes until the sound of footsteps could no longer be heard. He ducked behind the trunk of a tree and sat down to catch his breath. His heavy breathing echoed throughout the forest but still he could not sense his pursuer. He let his guard down before a rustling in the leaves of a limb across from him again made him pause. His muscles froze, waiting for either fight or flight. His nerves were almost lost when a brown squirrel popped out of the foliage.

Again Naruto sighed in relief before he broke into a smile and soft chuckle. The sound of laughter turned into a growl, his eyes went immediately to the same limb before his pursuer burst out of the foliage.

Its teeth were showing a dazzling white and its claws were extended. In one leap it closed the gap between hunter and prey, violently placing a paw on the whiskered boy's chest, forcing him into the tree trunk. Naruto stared at his captors yellow eyes, its blood thirsty stare making him quiver under its gaze. The hot sensation of his breath mixed with the smell of previous prey made the boys stomach want to lose the lunch he had eaten not even an hour ago.

The snarling face turned to a smirk. "Better job Naruto," the black fox said. The fox had a long, thin body. Not skinny by any means but that of a lean runner. It was pure black save for the tip of its paws, muzzle, ears and tail that were white as snow. There was also a white diamond in the middle of its forehead. "You still have a ways to go before you master the art of stealth and hiding but you have definitely improved. Would probably fool most shinobi but not a fox. You did better than Ishiri at least," the black fox said as he motioned to an adjacent tree branch.

Naruto peered over and nearly fell from his perch laughing. Ishiri dangled from the scruff of his fur, limbs lying lazily in defeat, by the mouth of a white fox. The fox held the same features as the black fox that had chased Naruto down except where his partner was black he was white and vice versa.

The two brothers were the tracking specialists of the Kitsune Clan. Shadow and Twilight were born trackers and hunters. From a young age they showed immense skill at following prey, picking up scents and hearing the most minute sounds that even the more experienced members of the clan couldn't even hope to pick up. While they were expert trackers and hunters, their lean forms were not adept at taking down bigger targets. Still for anything that the clan needed to do with stealth while tracking something the Yin-Yang Brothers were always leading the way.

"The gaki tried to hide using a pitiful genjutsu," Twilight said as he spat out Ishiri onto the branch next to Naruto. "It was actually quite insulting to think that we wouldn't see through such a pathetic ruse."

"Hey it worked on Naruto!" Ishiri spat back at the slight to his technique.

"That's because Naruto can't tell the difference between a genjutsu and his own asshole," this time it was Shadow who spoke up.

"Hey I'm getting better." It was Naruto's turn to take offense to the slight against his skills. "Besides it isn't like I have ever seen one. The academy has only gone over the theoretical aspects of genjutsu. Actually forming one isn't taught until this year."

"That is why we have decided to teach you Naruto," the powerful voice came from below them. The group of four looked down to see Luna sitting on her haunches looking up into the trees. "Come down here you four. There is much to discuss."

The group descended to the bottom of the large tree they had been perched on. Once the four were down and had settled in front of the matriarch she began again. "I was not watching for long but it seemed to me that you have improved in hiding and tracking using sound. Would you say that is accurate Shadow?"

Shadow eyed Naruto before looking at his brother. The two trackers held a silent conversation before turning back to the large silver vixen before them. "Yes while he has shown great skill in using the terrain to hide he has yet to fully master the art of covering his tracks. The low ranking ninja probably would not have noticed the slight changes to the surrounding areas, but he still needs to improve. He has yet to be able to sniff out targets or pursuers and he cannot yet mask his scent, though that isn't surprising. I am please to say; however, that he has shown some improvement in hearing for changes in the environment," he said with a sound of pride in his voice that was matched by his brother's posture. "It seems the chakra exercises that Ahri-sama had him start are working well."

"Good and how about Ishiri?" Luna asked Twilight.

"Eh showing small improvement although he is getting overconfident in his abilities," Twilight said much to the matriarch's disappointment. The larger fox looked at her child with narrowed eyes.

"You don't say Twilight," she said with a small snarl. "Maybe we should talk to Bruno about beating that out of him."

Ishiri and Naruto's eyes widened at the prospect. The fear of being put under even more physical exercises then they already endured on a daily basis made them pale. Of their teachers Bruno was easily their least favorite. Their muscles still ached from the first day they were introduced over a week ago.

•••••

Naruto and Ishiri awoke at the crack of dawn as ordered, the alarm clock greeting them to a new day. Naruto threw his hand at the offending timepiece several times before finally finding the button to turn it off.

He shifted his body so his feet now dangled off the bed. He turned his head when he heard a rather long yawn. Ishiri uncurled himself from his peaceful sleeping position. He stretched out, front paws out in front of his head and butt in the air before lunging forward. He turned to Naruto with blood shot eyes as he tried to wet his dry tongue. Both boys were not, by any means, morning people.

Naruto stretched before finally getting out of bed and shuffling off into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and looked at what he had. He reached for a half empty carton of milk. He opened the flaps of the carton and took a whiff of the contents. Not completely disgusted with the smell he took a quick swig of the milk before taking a bowl and pouring some for Ishiri. He put the bowl on the ground before finishing off the rest.

Ishiri stumbled out of the bedroom and gave a grunt as Naruto passed him and headed into the bathroom. He was expecting some meat and eggs or something to be ready on the table. He was shocked and a little peeved when all he came across was a bowl of milk sitting on the ground next to the kitchen table.

"Oi Naruto what do you take me for? A house cat?" he shouted, still peering down at the bowl of milk with irritation.

"Huh? Did you say something Ishiri?" Naruto asked as he peered out from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Do you think I am some sort of house cat?" Ishiri asked with the same inflection of annoyance. "I want meat for breakfast not just milk. How are we suppose to be ready for our first day of training with just milk?"

Naruto spit out the contents of his mouth and walked into the kitchen. "Sorry but that is all I had," he said with a shrug. "I have done with worse. Sometimes I don't even have milk for breakfast. This is the best I could do."

Ishiri looked down at his 'breakfast' with disappointed. "Well it's something I guess." He bent down and licked at the drink. "Yeah we're are going to have to teach you hunting or something so we can actually eat."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that," Naruto said from his bedroom where he was placing his ninja gear in his backpack. After the early morning daze had managed to wear off he was excited as ever to get back to training and this time he had a friend to train with. "Hey Ishiri what do you think your mom wants us to bring?"

"Beats me Naruto, but don't you think we should get going by now?"

"Yeah let's get going," Naruto shouted as he raced out his front door. "Race you there!" And just like that the new duo was sprinting through the empty early morning streets of Konoha laughing the entire way as they tried to beat the other out. They didn't stop until they were just outside of the tree that Naruto had been taken to yesterday.

When they entered a cough cut off their laughter. They looked up to see the five chairs in the middle of the large library to be taken by five rather large foxes with Luna sitting in the largest of them.

"Good of you two to finally join us," she said looking at them with narrowed eyes. "Now Naruto come here, I would like to introduce you to a few of my kinsmen." Naruto walked up next to her and gazed at the four sets of eyes that were thoroughly locked onto him. "Naruto this is the elder council of the Kitsune Clan. They have asked to meet you today."

"You were right Luna. He is a peculiar one isn't he?" a sweet womanly voice said before giggling. Naruto's eyes moved to a vixen that had a silver pelt with a slight blue color in her fur. Her tail, which was dancing behind her happily, was more blue with a black tip. She gave off an aura of happiness that was reflected in her yellow eyes with a black, vertical slit in the middle.

"He looks rather scrawny if you ask me," came a gruff, raspy voice. The owner of the voice was a large orange fox. The principle mark of this fox was the scar on its left eye that was matched with other scars that were scattered throughout his burly body. He gazed at the summoner with green, glassy eyes that looked as if he was going slightly blind.

"Naruto this is Ahri and Bruno," Luna began, motioning to the two foxes that had spoken up. "They will be instructing you in many aspects a ninja must be competent in. Ahri will be teaching you chakra control and genjutsu while Bruno will be taking over your physical development and taijutsu training."

"Thank you Ahri-sensei, Bruno-sensei," Naruto said with a slight bow. He knew about manners though he chose to often ignore them, but in this case he decided to be more careful in his dealings with the two elder foxes.

"Oh and he is polite _and_ cute too," Ahri said before again giggling.

"Yes, well anyways," Luna said as she looked at the blue fox with confusion. "Naruto these will be your teachers in politics and fuinjutsu," Luna said motioning two the last two elders. "This is Yasu," the fox in question was a small orange fox not much larger than Naruto himself "and he will be your political teacher." Naruto figured he was on the smaller side of the Kitsune Clan members if he was comparing him to the others, minus Ishiri, that were in the room. "And last but not least is Suzuki who will be your fuinjutsu instructor." The fox in question had a wider form with a worn brown fur that matched his dull, yellow eyes. Nothing was significant about this fox except it looked as if he had let himself go in his advancing years. Both foxes gave a respectful nod, which Naruto returned in kind.

"But what about ninjutsu Luna-sama?" Naruto asked with a hint of disappointment.

"I will see to personally to that Naruto-chan," she said will a smile. "Now if we don't have anymore questions I beli-"

"Umm Kaa-chan?" Ishiri spoke up sheepishly.

Luna narrowed her eyes at her young kit. "Yes Ishiri?"

"Well I was wondering if we could first learn hunting."

"Hunting? Don't you think that is getting ahead of yourself young kit?" Bruno asked with a small amount of indignation in his voice.

"Yes Ishiri," Luna began with a bit of confusion. "Normally that would be saved for _after_ chakra control and genjutsu. What would make you think we would push it forward for you two?"

"Well so we can eat," Ishiri said. What little confidence he had going into the question had quickly diminished.

"I don't understand, shouldn't Naruto have food at his place?" Luna, and the rest of the council, looked at Naruto with a curious gaze.

Naruto lowered his gaze and put a hand behind his head. He chuckled with a sheepish smile. "Well you see the people in Konoha don't exactly like me. They . . . Well they jack up prices to the point I run out money and food before I can get more money."

The council gave the blonde boy a look of shock.

"Despicable," Ahri's jovial voice was replaced with a growl.

"Yes quite shameful indeed," Yasu stated.

"Heads would be rolling if the Uzumaki had heard of this happening to one of their own," Bruno stated with a snarl in his own.

Luna looked at the boy's features in a new light. She had wrote off the lack of muscle to a lack of physical exercises like push-ups but that seemed to no longer be the case. "Yes that is quite a problem you have there Naruto." She again thought of the issue for a moment. She couldn't just let her son and the new summoner of her clan go hungry. "Very well we will introduce you two to the Yin-Yang Brothers today and until then we will provide enough to get you two through training. Anyone opposed to this?" A quick look around the council showed that there were no objections to the amended plans. "Very well in the mornings you will be with Bruno. After lunch then Ahri will be training you in basic chakra control followed by a few hours with the Yin-Yang Brothers. Bruno they are all yours."

With that the other four foxes vanished in a puff of smoke. The smoke cleared to show Bruno with a corner of his lips turned upwards. The young kitsune and summoner each gulped at the look they were given.

•••••

"Again," Bruno shouted from a perch were he sat looking down at the two trainees as they made yet another lap of the course he had mapped out earlier in the day. The course included tree climbing, jumping from limb to limb and flat sprinting around the clearing that held the Kitsune Library. The course was about a mile in circumference, which would normally not tire out the two exuberant youth, but by the 50th lap both were feeling their limits.

Naruto picked himself up off the ground and started another lap. Ishiri moaned as every muscled from his tail to muzzle ached; yet he too picked himself up and continued to move on.

In his tired state, Naruto undershot a tree branch he had been jumping for. He frantically grasped for the limb but to no avail. He hit the forest floor with a thud. He looked up when he heard snickering to see Bruno lying on a perch above him, his head resting on his paws.

"Enjoying the view from up there?" Naruto yelled up.

"Seems to be more comfortable then down there wouldn't you say?" he teased back. "I would get up if I were you or I may just tack on another lap." Bruno barely finished his sentence before Naruto took off, the ground blazing behind him. Bruno threw his head back and hollered in amusement.

Naruto would have taken the added laps as opposed to what faced him and Ishiri following their romp through the forest. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-up and squats were among the short list of various exercises that Bruno made the pairing endure.

Among Bruno's favorite was an exercise where he would attach a sled to one of them. He would sit on the sled and make the trainees sprint as fast as they could while the other held a position meant to strengthen their core.

"Good I guess you two have earned a lunch break," Bruno said, now fully amused by the two.

With an exclamation of relief, the pair fell down and nearly passed out. Their bodies were beyond sore, their muscles pleading for a respite and their lungs begging for air.

"Hey you crazy, senile old fox," Naruto managed in between gasps for air, "I thought you were suppose to teach us taijutsu!"

"Psh," Bruno scoffed at the comment. "Taijutsu would be useless unless the body is at top physical condition. You two have to lose a lot of body fat and gain a lot of muscle before taijutsu becomes even remotely useful to you beyond making your opponents piss themselves with laughter."

"So when will we actually begin our training?" Ishiri rose his head up to view the older, veteran fox.

"Until you two show enough physical advancement then this will be your training," Bruno said while jumping from his perch in a nearby tree. "But it seems we need to focus more on muscle then stamina. I am impressed Naruto." A smile made its way across Naruto's lips earning a snarl from the instructor. "Don't get use to the compliments kid, you are still as weak as a newborn baby deer. Now eat up before Ahri shows up. She doesn't like to be kept waiting."

With that the large fox vanished in a puff of smoke. In his place now sat a meal of nuts, berries and rabbit, cooked for Naruto and raw for Ishiri, lying on piece of cloth. The pair drooled at the plethora of food as their stomachs serenaded the surrounding forest with their cries of hunger.

They practically leaped at the food only for them to pass right through it. Colliding into a tree, the pair groaned from their new spot on the ground. A beautiful laugh could be heard echoing throughout the forest. Turning to their left stood the large, blue fox, a tail attempting to cover her laughter.

Upon seeing the two had seen her, the vixen cleared her throat and began. "This is a basic genjutsu used in hunting. Using this technique allows the hunter to turn a trap into an enticing meal or clearing for its prey. Lucky for you two it wasn't hiding anything." The blue fox noticed the look of dejection on the face of the trainees before again chuckling. "Don't worry I actually have food for you. I just wanted to see how you dealt with a genjutsu," she said as she stepped sideways to show the same plethora of food behind her.

With a look of suspicion the two approached the food. Ishiri leaned into the piece of raw meat, sniffing it to see if it wasn't something else earning a laugh from the vixen. Ishiri's eyes lit up before jumping onto the piece of meat and ripping into his meal. Seeing that this was indeed the real meal Naruto quickly joined him. The pair tore through the meal and in moments were lying on their backs with protruding bellies. A belch of appreciation came from the small fox and a groan from the whiskered boy.

"You too happy now?" Ahri asked the two, getting slow nods in response. "Good." Her voice suddenly turned from jovial to serious. "Now get up we have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time."

At the tone of the voice the pair shot up. The vixen's tail was no longer swaying behind her body playfully but instead stood ramrod straight.

"I will be teaching you the basics of genjutsu, how to mold your chakra into different illusions that will be used to keep yourself hidden or immobilizing a force larger than yourself allowing you to either kill them or get away. To do this you must have excellent chakra control. Now, young summoner, what can you tell me of chakra?"

Naruto put a hand to his chin as he thought back to his previous year at the academy. It was at the end of this last year they had begun to mold chakra into jutsu so he was fairly new at it. He put his hand to the back of his head and chuckled.

"Well it's used to make awesome jutsu! Everyone knows that," Naruto began, thoroughly under impressing his teacher. "Oh and people don't have the same amount. Some have more than others."

An annoyed sigh came from the blue vixen. "This is going to take a while," she muttered under her breath while lowering her head and covering her eyes with a paw. She shook her head and looked up at the blond boy and the small fox who looked embarrassed by his partner's answer. _It's usual to see the Kitsune farther along then their summoner but this is bad._ "You are both correct and incomplete Naruto. Chakra is the combination of both physical and mental energy. The physical energy comes from the various cells in your body and can be increased with exercise and training, something even Bruno-baka can be helpful with. The other half, the mental energy, is gained through meditation and overall mental strength, something you apparently have in spades young kit. Now these two energies are connected and brought together in finally tuned coils known as a person's chakra pathways. Similar to the veins that carry blood to your limps, the chakra pathways carry chakra throughout your body, expelling the energy in the form of jutsu or powerful bursts of chakre. Chakra can be used to heal, strengthen ones limbs, increasing power and speed, and mold it into jutsu as you have stated previously. Chakra, above all else, is what keeps you breathing. Without it you will die so controlling it is key if you are to not overexert yourself in battle more than you need to. Understand Naruto-chan?"

Smoke began to billow out of Naruto's ears as he began to slowly process the information. He felt as if he had just been put through a week of lecture notes in five minutes. Ahri saw the confused look and again sighed.

"By being able to mold chakra more effectively you will be able to not only preform jutsu but also make yourself stronger and faster. Does that make sense?" A violent nod, accompanied by a smile that made her squint, followed the dumbed down version she gave the Uzumaki. "Now Ishiri will demonstrate our first training technique."

With a happy yip the orange fox pranced over to a group of leaves that were on the ground near the trio. He grabbed a few with his mouth, spitting them on the ground in front of Naruto and Ahri. He managed to get a leaf in his paw and place it on his forehead. Naruto looked on curiously as the underside of the leaf began to glow blue. Ishiri closed a single and stuck out his tongue as he managed get the leaf to stick to his head before it slid off onto the ground.

"I don't get it," Naruto muttered, still staring at the leaf on the ground.

"Ishiri focused his chakra into a point on his forehead and held the leaf there but didn't add enough so it fell off," Ahri answered the confused look.

"But he didn't make a seal. How could he mold chakra without a handseal?"

"Our tails act as your hands do Naruto," Ahri answered. "When we focus our chakra with specific movements or poses of our tail we can mold our chakra into jutsu." Ahri demonstrated the ability. With a few flicks of her tail she sent a small flame from her mouth. Naruto's jaw dropped when the flame turned into a small fox, the size of Ishiri.

"Show off," Ishiri muttered.

"Now Naruto, take a leaf and place it on your own forehead," Ahri commanded. "Use the Ram seal and focus your chakra to the point where the leaf is on your forehead."

Naruto nodded as he picked up a leaf and placed it on his forehead. He used the appropriate hand sign before closing his eyes and concentrating as hard as he could. He could feel the chakra begin to mold but still pushed harder.

Ishiri and Ahri's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly became enveloped in twisting blue chakra. The wind whipped up by the energy made their fur fly around. Suddenly Ahri ducked as the leaf rocketed off the young boy's forehead. Ishiri and Ahri watched as the leaf slice a path through the forest before imbedding itself in a tree thirty yards away.

Ahri felt something off about her tail. She brought it before her eyes to see the tip of fur that was normally there had been cut clean off. _Well that is interesting._

Naruto opened his eyes to see Ishiri staring up at him in astonishment. "That. Was. AWESOME!" Ishiri shouted as he began to jump up and down. "How did you that?"

Naruto put a hand behind his head as he smiled sheepishly. "I don't know, just did."

Ahri, still staring at her tail, spoke up. "Naruto-chan have you learned any jutsu at your academy? Shouldn't you have learned one or two?"

Naruto had a dejected look as he nodded his head. "Yeah we were suppose to try to make these clones but mine never came out right. I can't even make one that stays standing for more then a second and that is with wind keeping it standing!"

 _Just as I thought. He has more chakra then the average boy his age. Quite interesting._ Ahri realized she had spaced out when she found her two young charges staring at her. She giggled before looking at Naruto. "Very good now try a little less chakra this time Naruto-chan."

"Hai Ahri-sensei," Naruto said before starting the drill over.

Ahri looked on with a satisfied swish in her tail as the young duo continued. After about two hours of the training Ishiri finally fell on the ground exhausted. Ahri giggled as the small fox was panting, fur in a mess, watching Naruto again send a leaf cascading into a tree, this time only ten yards away.

"I think that is enough for today you two," Ahri's voice returned to its usual playfulness when she talked to them. "Take a break before your next instructor's arrive." With that she trotted into the large tree that housed the Kitsune Library.

When she entered she found the other four elders waiting for her. She walked to her chair before climbing into it. She got comfy before looking at Luna to start the meeting.

"So your assessment on Naruto-chan is what exactly?" Luna asked, eyeing Bruno and Ahri.

Bruno was the first one to answer. He cleared his throat as his eyes danced around the circle. "Naruto's malnutrition has done damage to his body, stunted his growth and muscle improvement. When he gets a more balanced diet he will show drastic changes in his strength and speed. With that said his stamina is second to none. I haven't seen anyone since the Uzumaki's that could go as long as him. Even Ishiri could barely keep up and that kit is known for his unending supply of energy."

Luna nodded as she began to put the information away for later thinking. She looked over to Ahri who had her brows scrunched together in thought. "And you, Ahri-san? What have you found?"

"Huh?" Ahri was broken out of her thoughts. "Oh yes well he is definitely interesting. He shows great work ethic but I think he is fighting an uphill battle."

A concerned look made its way onto all the faces around the circle as they eyed her. "What do you mean by that?" Yasu asked the question everyone was thinking.

Ahri shrugged as she thought through her answer. "Well simply put he has too much chakra, at least for a boy his age. He struggles to control it and doesn't realize, I think, just how much he is putting into his exercises. He showed me a clone jutsu and it was rough."

"Anyway to fix this?" Luna questioned.

"More and more practice really," Ahri answered. "I think if we give him the gifts of the Kitsune that might be able to able to help him. If he could focus the right amount of chakra into his ears, eyes or nose then he might be able to figure out how much chakra is appropriate."

"Are not the Ying-Yang Brothers going to present this gift to him today?" Yasu again questioned.

"Yes that should be happening right about . . ." the screams of the two young trainees echoed throughout the room, "now." A smile danced across Luna's face.

•••••

Naruto and Ishiri were lying on the ground staring at the canopy of leafs above. "Hey Ishiri how long have you been training?" Naruto asked.

Ishiri took a deep breath in before turning his eyes to his partner. "For about a year or so. I was suppose to be taught with the other foxes my age but I just got bored. So I went out one day and came across Konoha. That is when I smelled you."

"You smelled me?"

"Well your chakra really. I got excited and went back to the den but I got ridiculed. Said I couldn't have found a new summoner. I was shunned more than normally. I hated it," Ishiri said with a frown.

"You were shunned?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"I was the runt of the litter. I have a brother and sister who were in my litter and I am the youngest plus the smallest fox my age," Ishiri answered. "I got bullied a lot so I tried to get attention from everyone that wasn't my mom. That's why I ran away, then I found you and thought things would change but it just got worst. That is why I was so excited when I got the chance to prove myself to those that said I wouldn't do anything worth while."

Naruto smiled as he looked back up to the trees above. He felt connected, really connected, to his partner. He felt for the first time that he actually had a friend. Naruto caught a quick shift in Ishiri's movements. "What's wrong?" he asked the young fox.

"Did you hear something?" he asked as he got up and began to sniff the air around them.

"No I didn't," Naruto answered back. He pulled himself off the ground and walked over to where Ishiri was sniffing about. "Hey did you see tha-" Naruto was cut of as suddenly teeth and claws appeared from the bushes.

Naruto and Ishiri screamed as they were sent flying backwards and were faced with pearly white teeth and razor sharp claws pinned at their throats. They felt the hard bark poke their backs but they were more focused on the piercing yellow eyes that stared through them.

"Rule number 1: when on the hunt never let your guard down," the black fox answered who had is paw on Naruto's chest and claw at his throat.

"Rule number 2: if you hear something and go to investigate be armed and ready to fight," the white fox, who had Ishiri pinned underneath his paw and teeth inches away from his muzzle, growled out.

"Wh-Who are you?" Naruto stammered.

"We are the Ying-Yang Brothers," the black fox said with pride in its voice. "I am Shadow and this is my brother Twilight," he said motioning with his muzzle to the snow white fox over Ishiri.

"And this is a waste of our time," the white fox spat. "We were told we would be training the new summoner and his partner not a gaki and a pup who looks like he mastered potty training yesterday."

"Twilight hold your tongue," Shadow barked back.

"And why should I? This is a complete waste of our talents. The boy can't even mold his chakra to use the traits he has been given."

"Our mission is to train them to hunt and track for the next two months until the boy returns to his own academy," Shadow started. "Remember last time we disobeyed orders?"

The white fox gave a low growl. "Yeah Luna-sama had us babysitting the pregnant vixens. I am still feeling the bite left when Uri thought I was on the menu, that bloated whale."

"I would warn against insulting my niece Twilight," a voice came from behind the group. Standing behind them were the five elders, Luna and Ahri looking especially pissed. "Maybe next time we'll put you on nursing duties and before you say you can't we will find a way." Shadow and Twilight both gulped at the threat that sounded more like a promise. "Now if you two are done complaining I think we should begin with some introductions. As you know this is my son, since you have chased him around before, and this is our new summoner, Uzumaki Naruto."

Both sets of ears perked up at hearing the surname. Shadow began to look over the boy but it was Twilight who spoke up. "This boy shows no signs of being an Uzumaki. Look at him, blond hair, blue eyes, nothing that would signify him being an Uzumaki."

"I can assure you his chakra matches those of the Uzumaki to the letter, Twilight," Luna said becoming annoyed. "But you have not been called here to question the councils actions and rulings, you have been called here to instruct and instruct you will. Is that clear?"

"Hai Luna-sama. We will do as you have commanded," Shadow answered before Twilight could open his muzzle. "What would you like us to teach him?"

"Basic hunting abilities from hiding to trap setting and finally tracking. We would also like you train him in the traits he has been given since signing the contract."

"A warning to be careful with his training," Ahri spoke up. "He possesses vast amounts of chakra so his use of the traits should not be used unsupervised until stated otherwise. Understood?"

"Hai," both brothers said in a militaristic manner.

"Wait what traits?" Naruto asked. "I'm not gonna grow fox ears or a tail am I?"

"No summoner. The traits you have been given are similar to a Kekkei Genkai," Luna answered.

"A what?"

"You know like the Hyuuga and their Byakugan," Ishiri interrupted.

"You mean those people with white eyes?" Naruto asked.

"Precisely young one. Your new traits cannot be passed down through heritage; however, because they only belong to those who sign the Kitsune Contract," Luna said. "These traits include enhanced eye sight to see further and distinguish different colors that are the same to the unaided eye as well as the ability to see better in the dark. Next is hearing in order to hunt without sight while hearing for enemies and smell to track across long distances that would make those mutts in the Inuzuka Clan green with envy."

"Wow that is so cool!" Naruto shouted. "When can we start?"

"We start now kit," Shadow said with a smile. He liked the boy's enthusiasm although he could tell Twilight would be reluctant to help out. "We'll begin with basic trap setting."

•••••

"I told you this was a waste of time," Twilight said as Naruto bobbed up and down from a rope that was tied one side to a limb and the other to his foot. "If he gets caught in his own traps then he will be useless as a hunter and as a shinobi. Pathetic."

"I almost had that rabbit!" Naruto shouted. He was right too, the rabbit had almost stepped on the rope that would have tied around its foot and instead of Naruto dangling upside down it would have been the rabbit.

"Yeah until you shouted in victory with whatever stupid saying that was," Twilight retorted back. "Rule number 3: you will have plenty of time to celebrate a successful hunt over dinner."

"It is dattebayo and I say it when I get excited dattebayo!" Naruto shouted with a red face. Blood was beginning to rush to his head.

"Will you two be quiet?" Shadow said as he walked through a bush with Ishiri who held the same rabbit in his mouth that had come close to falling into Naruto's trap. "If you two make anymore noise you could wake the dead let alone scare away any more potential prey. Besides it is pointless, Naruto's little outburst led the rabbit right to Ishiri. I call that teamwork and success."

Twilight scoffed. "More like dump luck."

"Hey better lucky than good sometimes," Shadow said with a smirk on his face. "Isn't that how you got that buck last year?"

"Hey that was all skill!" Twilight shouted back.

"Yeah on the part of a den of wolves. They tracked him and pushed him right to you. All you had to do was grab it and shoot some flames to get those over grown poodles to back off," Shadow stated with a grin.

The group laughed at the white fox as it pouted at being made fun of before returning to the day's lesson on trap setting. By the time the duo entered Naruto's apartment they had four rabbits and a couple of fish that would be a good dinner and breakfast for the two trainees.

•••••

Naruto stood before his four teachers, each with a beaming smile on their face, even Twilight had one, with Luna standing in the middle. Sitting next to him was his partner Ishiri. It had been a wild two months for the pair. The once weak and frail blond haired boy had begun to grow muscle and even hit a small growth spurt much to his enjoyment. Ishiri's sleek physique was also beginning to fill in with added muscle, but to his annoyance had yet to hit a growth spurt like his partner.

"You two have shown remarkable improvement along the course of just two months," Luna said with a purr in her voice. "We are all very proud of you. Now, Naruto, don't think that just because the academy is beginning another year that you are getting off easy. You will continue your studies in the evening after you let of school. Be sure to work hard like we were teaching you."

"Hai Luna-sama," Naruto said with a bright smile on his face.

"We have a gift for you Naruto-chan," Ahri spoke up. She saw a disgruntled look on Luna's face but continued. "What? I couldn't wait anymore." Ahri went behind a bush and brought back in her mouth a long black sleeved, skin-tight shirt along with a normal white shirt with a black Uzumaki symbol on the front and the ying-yang symbol on the back. "Mister softy over there thought you'd like it," she said pointing to Shadow.

"Hey we just wanted everyone to know who is teaching the boy," Shadow said with pride in his voice. "It is more for our own egos then anything."

"Young fools," Bruno muttered before looking up at the duo. "Makes us proud boys and remember Naruto, what is the most important part of fighting?"

"Control the pace and wait for your chance to strike." Bruno gave the boy a nod of approval at the answer.

"Good luck Naruto," Luna said before the party vanished in a puff of smoke leaving the whiskered boy and orange fox alone.

They made their way back into Konoha with Ishiri hiding in Naruto's backpack. They sat down for dinner. They stayed up late and talked about the exciting things they had done and learned since meeting each other before slipping off into blissful sleep.


	4. New Year at the Academy

**Hey guys! I am glad to say that I am back with a new chapter. This one might be a bit boring but I do hope there are a few good things you like about it. The next chapter is one I am extremely excited about.**

 **Anyways. As always please, if you so choose to take time out of your busy days, review this fix. Tell me what you like, what you don't, advice you may have about how I can improve my writing or just your thoughts in general.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4**

Naruto stood in front of the academy building. He took a gulp before walking in. He was both excited and disappointed. He was excited because he wanted to show off what he had learned in his time with the Kitsune Clan but he was more disappointed he would be returning to the academy. He had felt like he had teachers who cared about him, even Twilight, but now he was going to be entering a place he knew he would be by himself.

What made him feel really lonely was the fact Ishiri wouldn't be with him. The clan had made a decision to keep his status as a summoner secret until he could better defend himself. Maybe Shikamaru, Choji or Kiba would hang out with him but that was fairly rare.

With a sigh of defeat, he pushed opened the doors of the academy and made his way to the third floor where the upper classmen met for classes. He searched for his classroom and opened the door. What greeted him was an astonished look from a Chunin. The Chunin wore the standard shinobi garb of Konoha with his headband worn as a cap rather then the normal wear. His silver hair fell bellow his chin. The Chunin's gaze turned from surprise to slight scorn. Naruto brushed it off as he made his way to his normal spot in the back of the class in a corner.

Naruto put his head down, attempting to catch up on a few minutes of lost sleep from nerves before he was awakened by the door opening harshly. "Sorry I'm late Mizuki. I got caught up with printing copies to hand out to our students." The newest addition to the room took a look around upon seeing Mizuki's face. His eyes brightened up when he saw the blond boy sitting in the corner. Naruto matched the Chunin's smile when he saw possibly the only instructor at the academy who would teach him staring back at him.

He looked up to Umino Iruka for his kindness. He'll never forget the day he met the man who he wished had been his instructor since day one at the academy.

•••••

Naruto fell to his butt with a thud. He got up onto shaking legs before again striking the pillar in front of him. He had been at the academy grounds since school had been let out. He was there training because he had again been embarrassed in taijutsu sparring and still he had gotten no help from his instructors. So he trained on his own. He figured that eventually his hard work would make up for the lack of teaching but he grew more and more frustrated with each loss.

He let out a cry of exhaustion as he fell forward, the training pillar catching him. He leaned against the object, trying to push himself up before his legs finally gave out and he again found himself on the ground.

Between his gasps for breath, he heard footsteps approaching. He opened a single eye to see a Chunin instructor of the upper classmen walk from around the building. He looked like an average ninja of Konaha, textbook in his uniform. The only aspects that stood out was his brown hair that was done up in a short ponytail that stuck straight up accompanied by a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. Naruto looked into his black eyes expecting to see hatred but instead saw . . . kindness.

"What are you doing out here so late?" the Chunin asked as he approached the blond haired boy. "The academy grounds have been closed for an hour."

Naruto stared at the ground, not wanting to see the answer in the Chunin's eyes when he asked his own question. "I snuck back in. I lost today during our spars and I just wanted to practice. None of the teachers ever told me what I did wrong so I am out here working hard so next time I win," Naruto explained through his heavy breathing. "Please can I stay for just a few minutes longer?"

Iruka looked down on the young ninja-to-be with pity. He had seen the grades of the lower level classes. He was disappointed in his fellow instructors for their actions, or rather lack of actions. He hummed while he placed his hand under his chin, pretending to be thinking. "How about I do you one better. How about we walk through the basic academy kata," he suggested. He smiled when he saw exuberance being painted on the young boy's face.

"That would be awesome! Please sensei," Naruto yelled.

The pair worked for another hour, Iruka frustratingly fixing mistakes that should have been dealt with early in Naruto's basic form and Naruto soaking up every bit of information he could. Finally Naruto couldn't stand any longer and fell to the ground exhausted.

"That is good work Naruto," Iruka beamed down at the sweaty, whiskered boy. "You really improved today. Go home and get some food before you go to bed." Iruka paused when he saw the look of dejection on the nine-year-old's face. "What is wrong Naruto?"

"I-I don't have any money to get dinner and I ran out of instant ramen last night," Naruto said as his stomach rumbled at the mention of food.

Iruka, again, looked on the boy with pity. He had grown up the same way, without parents who had been taken from him by the Kyuubi attack but never once did he blame Naruto for his struggles. In a way it made him who he was.

"Well how about, for your hard work, I treat you to a nice, big, hot bowl of ramen from Ichiraku's?" He laughed when he was met with shouts of excitement and 'dattebayo's from the young boy.

The pair headed to the ramen bar and talked while enjoying a few bowls of the delicious noodles. Since then Iruka would occasionally treat Naruto to ramen after he would train in the academy grounds after school. The pair grew close and Iruka began to view Naruto as the little brother he never had.

•••••

"Ah Naruto, I am pleasantly surprised to see you here already," Iruka said from the front of the class.

"Are you going to be my new sensei this year Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked with hopefulness.

"Hai and not just for this year but your final year as well," Iruka said before turning to Mizuki and discussing plans for the rest of the day.

Naruto sat in his chair and watched as the rest of his classmates walked into the room. The first to walk in was surprisingly Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. Choji was eating a bag of potato chips while Shikamaru walked into class with his hands in his pockets, grumbling about something. They sat in the middle toward the back with Shikamaru attempting to take a nap.

The next group to walk in was the sulking and brooding Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto never liked him because, in a lot ways, he had what Naruto craved and he couldn't have cared less. Everyone wanted to be his friend and the girls fawned over him, but most of all he got the instruction Naruto always wanted. Naruto knew that they were also the same in a lot of ways. Alone and without a family, but at least people wanted to be around him. Examples A and B followed closely behind him.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura were at each other's throats again over something involving their precious 'Sasuke-kun'. Naruto wondered why they didn't just sit on either side of him until he noticed Aburame Shino sitting next to him. Naruto had to do a double take, when the hell did he show up? A screech was heard when the duo of Ino and Sakura saw that, while they were arguing, another girl from their class had slipped into their coveted chair unnoticed. Even though she was loud, he had to admit that Sakura looked cute with her pink hair.

Suddenly Naruto was staring into a white, furry butt. Sitting in front of him, and smelling like he hadn't bathed in weeks, was Inuzuka Kiba with his partner Akamaru. Akamaru sniffed the air before turning to Naruto and growling as menacingly as a puppy could. Kiba heard the noise and looked up to his ninken before turning to the figure that had caused the disruption.

"What is it boy?" he asked getting a bark in reply. "Nah you don't smell fox, you smell loser." Kiba laughed before turning back to the front of the room "Hey Hinata come sit next to me."

Naruto followed his eyes to see Hyuga Hinata standing in front of the room looking in their direction. She wore blue ninja pants with blue sandals. Over her other clothes she wore a large brown hoody with white fur at the bottom. She wore her hair short with two violet bangs framing her face. The most noticeable feature was her violet, pupil-less eyes.

Naruto saw her fiddle with her fingers while looking between the empty seat next to Naruto and the exuberant Kiba. "O-okay Ki-Kiba-kun," she said hesitantly before taking the seat next to the Inuzuka and his ninken. Naruto caught her eyes as she tried to peak back at him. She gave an eep and turned herself back to the front, her face turning a dark shade of red.

 _That was weird._ Naruto thought as he looked at the young Hyuga. _Why is her face red? Is she sick? Maybe I should go tell Iruka-sensei afterwards._ His thoughts were quickly shut off as he heard Iruka announce the beginning of the first day of classes for the year.

Naruto smiled as he heard the curriculum for the year. It would be a lot of basic chakra control, more advanced taijutsu and genjutsu training while also brushing up on the three basic ninjutsus taught at the academy. What really got Naruto excited was the tracking and survival portion of the class. He might actually get to show off.

Naruto quickly got bored as Iruka began a lecture of things taught last year as a refresher. Normally he would be listening to his older brother figure but they were the same basic things the foxes had taught him, especially Ahri-sensei and her chakra exercises.

"Man this is boring. We already know this stuff," a voice came from Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah no kidding Ishiri. Even going through Bruno-sensei's workouts are better than this," Naruto said, not noticing what exactly was happening. "Hey Ishiri-" the light bulb finally clicked. "Ack!" Naruto exclaimed as he fell backwards. Ishiri laughed as Naruto quickly put him in his backpack before hearing the sound of Iruka shouting.

"Uzumaki Naruto what is the problem back there?" Iruka demanded from the front of the classroom.

Naruto panicked as he looked in his backpack, trying to find something, anything to tell as a believable lie. "Um . . . I was just . . . just looking for a scroll," Naruto said as he grabbed a scroll offered to him by the orange fox that was currently dwelling in his backpack.

"Good to see you taking these lectures more seriously this year Naruto but can you do it a little more quietly next time?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah right. Asking Naruto to do something quietly is like asking Choji to stop stuffing his face with food," Kiba commented to everyone's laughter except Choji, Naruto and Hinata who just played with her fingers and looked down at her desk.

After a bit, when he didn't think Iruka was watching, he turned back and peaked into his backpack. "Ishiri what are you doing here?" Naruto whispered hotly at his partner.

"I was bored back at your apartment waiting for you to summon me so I snuck out and followed your scent here," he said with a smile of accomplishment on his face.

"What if you got caught? What then?" Naruto asked.

"Psh. After being chased by Shadow and Twilight-sensei for two months, civvies are nothing." He attempted to take a peep out of the backpack before Naruto pushed his head back down. "Ow what was that for?" he asked as he rubbed the top of his head.

"Because you aren't suppose to be here," he exclaimed just a little too loudly. He froze when he heard Iruak clear his throat from the front of the classroom.

"Are you having troubles finding something else in your backpack Naruto or are you hiding something?" Naruto went pale, thinking he had been caught. Ishiri also had a pale look in his eyes but both exhaled in relief as the loud mouth of Yamanaka Ino saved them.

"He's probably fascinated by the thing called a zipper," she commented. "He's so stupid he probably just figured out how to use one." Again the class laughed at his expense before he pulled out a pencil, making it seem like he had been fishing around for it instead of talking to Ishiri.

A few minutes later he felt something in his lap. He looked down and had to swallow the shout of shock that threatened to disturb Iruka again. On his lap, sitting on his haunches and staring at the board, was Ishiri.

"Oi Naruto, why do you have classes in a building? Shouldn't ninjas be outside doing actual training?"

Before he could answer, he heard a growl coming from in front of him. The duo looked up to see Akamaru firmly staring down Ishiri, teeth bare and eyes narrowed. Naruto again pushed Ishiri bellow the desk, out of view of everyone else in class.

Iruka turned to Kiba and noticed Akamaru acting up. "Kiba control your ninken or else he will be forced to sit outside for the remainder of the school day," Iruka announced.

At hearing this Akamaru yelped before turning back around and staring straight ahead with a pale Kiba underneath. "Y-yes Iruka-sensei. Won't happen again," Kiba said.

"Go easy on him Iruka-sensei," Naruto spoke up. "That poor dog probably caught flees from the smelly mutt he's sitting on." The class erupted in laugher while Naruto celebrated in his mind for his first payback. "Either that or he was whimpering due to Ino's loud and annoying voice." _And there's the second_. He thought as again the class erupted into laughter.

"That is enough," Iruka exclaimed, attempting to gain an ounce of control over his class. "Everyone quiet. Naruto, Ino and Kiba this is your last warning: another outburst from either of you, or your ninken, and you'll receive detention. Got it?" All three students nodded their heads in understanding.

Naruto attempted to pay attention but between his notes, Iruka's lecture and keeping Ishiri quiet and out of sight, he wasn't doing a good job. He was about to go insane before Iruka made an announcement an hour into class.

"Alright that is enough lecturing for today," he said to the cheers of his students. "We will now see who of you put time into your training over the summer by demonstrating your skills outside before lunch."

 _Thank Kami_. Naruto thought with a sigh of relief. _Maybe Ishiri will be better behaved outside._ He looked down to see the happy twinkle in his eyes. _Or not._ "Ishiri go and hide in a tree while we are outside ok?"

"But why can't I participate with you?" he asked with a hurt look in his eyes. "We are a team. We are supposed to do things like this together."

Naruto groaned as he sadly saw the logic in the orange fox's logic before an idea came to him. "You wouldn't want me to tell Luna-sama that you disobeyed direct orders would you?"

Ishiri looked up at him with widened eyes. "You wouldn't dare tell Kaa-chan . . . Would you Naruto?" he asked with pleading eyes.

"You get me in trouble and I am taking you with me _partner_."

Ishiri huffed in indignation before turning back to Naruto. "Fine I will stay out of sight but can I at least hang out with you at school now instead of back at your apartment?"

"If you promise to keep a low profile then yes," Naruto answered much to Ishiri's happiness.

"Deal!"

"Naruto hurry up," Iruka yelled from the front of the room. Naruto looked up to see all the other students filing out of the classroom and into the hall. "We are going to be behind schedule if you don't hurry up."

"Coming Iruka-sensei," Naruto shouted as he set Ishiri under the desk, out of sight, and taking off for the door, following the rest of the students out to the training grounds of the academy.

•••••

Ishiri yawned as he took a look towards the sparring circle where various students were going at it. The fighting had been rather boring with no real spar being interesting. The girls, aside from the girl with violet hair, just flailed around without a real strategy. The boys weren't much better.

Ishiri perked up when he looked up to see the boy with the mutt step into the circle against another who looked bored out there, a fan painted on the back of his shirt. _This might be interesting_. He thought as the Inuzuka rushed his opponent. The other boy blocked the first punch and pulled his opponent down into a knee that was thrown upwards.

The other boy staggered back holding his nose with a little blood squirting out. The boy again charged and decided to aim a kick at his opponent's head, which was easily ducked. The other combatant twisted on the ground before throwing his foot up and connecting it with the chin of his opponent who had spun into it. The boy went flying. Kiba attempted to get up when a foot was placed against his chest, pushing him back down. He looked up to see Sasuke staring down at him with a smirk.

 _And then maybe it won't._ Ishiri thought in boredom before a smile appeared on his face as Naruto stepped into the ring. His smile vanished as he heard a recognizable growl. He turned and sighed when he saw Akamaru standing there snarling at him.

"Oi, mutt, what do you want?" Ishiri asked. Akamaru responded by lowering his body to the ground and quietly barking. "You want to fight?" Ishiri asked with a puzzled look. "Buzz off I am watching my partner down there. I let you watch yours quietly so let me watch mine. So either sit down and shut up or leave."

Akamaru paused and shifted his eyes to the boys standing in the middle of the ring. He smirked when he saw he was right. The blond oozed the smell of fox. He shook his head and walked closer to the orange fox and nipped at his tail only to miss it.

"Oi I said sit down," Ishiri yelled. He brought his paw up and hit the ninken atop his head sending him off the branch and onto the ground below. Ishiri chuckled as the white dog bounced around the branches and onto the ground before his master realized where he was.

Kiba ran over to his hurt ninken, physically he was fine, but his pride was in shambles. He had just been swatted like a fly by a tiny fox. He had to make sure the other Inuzuka ninken didn't hear about this or the torment would be unending.

Ishiri smirked as the pair walked away before turning back to his partner in crime. His fight just began versus a plain looking civilian child.

•••••

Naruto looked at his opponent. He wasn't much, a student from a civilian family, but he still beat Naruto a lot last year during taijutsu spars. The boy smirked back, thinking he had an easy win.

Naruto got into his fighting position, fists up with his body slightly turned so his left foot was in front of his right. Iruka stood in between the two. He raised his hands in the air before sending them down and starting the fight. The boy rushed Naruto throwing a punch with his right. Naruto took his left hand and brushed it away before slamming a jab into his opponent's gut.

His opponent lurched forward and grabbed his stomach only to be hit in the ribs with a kick and sent skidding on his back. He groaned as he stood up to see Naruto had barely moved, getting back into his starting position. The boy roared as he ran forward with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Naruto breathed as everything seemed to slow down. He concentrated on his opponent's movements, remembering his lessons from Bruno.

•••••

Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. "Dattebayo! I finally beat you! I finally got you, you old fur ball." Naruto currently had a henged Bruno pinned against a tree with his forearm.

Bruno puffed back to his fox form as he used his tail to brush away the blond boy. "You have really improved Naruto but remember to not get too cocky."

"Ha you should be taking your own advice," Naruto shouted back. "You got cocky and I totally beat you!"

"Would you care for a rematch?" Bruno asked with a smirk of his face.

"You bet I would!" Naruto stated. "Ishiri is too much of a chicken to go again."

"If you hadn't somehow dropped a tree on my tail I would be kicking your ass," Ishiri yelled from the sidelines with a look of fury on his face. He looked back down to his poor tail, which had an icepack on it. He would be feeling this injury for a while.

"Enough," Bruno stated, transforming back into a human figure. "Now shall we start?"

"You bet. I am gon-" Before Naruto could even finish his statement he was on his back with a grinning Bruno over him.

"Dead," he said with a sickly satisfied ring to his voice. "This time try to slow your breathing and focus on my movements."

Naruto could only tentatively nod up to the scarred fox. "H-Hai Bruno-sensei."

Naruto got up and rubbed his shoulder before getting back into his practiced stance. Naruto focused hard on his opponent as again Bruno got him to the ground without so much as a fight.

"You call that concentration?" Bruno asked standing above his student. "I have seen newborn kits with more concentration than that. If you want to have any chance of dodging me, let alone landing a strike, then you will need to step it up kit."

Bruno inwardly smirked, as the blond seemed to become even more determined with the challenge. He never backed down and Bruno liked it. _This boy has more guts than anyone I have ever seen. The skies the limit for this kid._

Naruto brushed himself off as he got back into his position. He concentrated back onto his sensei, his entire energy focused on the slightest twitch of his teacher's muscles. He felt a weird sensation in his eyes but could not think about it as he saw his sensei move. He barely managed to get out of the way of the flying knee that had gotten him two other times.

He picked himself back up panting. Ishiri had his jaw on floor at the movement and even Bruno had a smirk on his face. "Good. Now let's see if you can do that again."

•••••

Naruto breathed and danced around the barrage of kicks and punches. Twisting and turning, he kept in front of every move as if his opponent was moving in slow motion. He saw his opportunity. A swinging kick left his opponent slightly off balanced. Naruto ducked the kick and sweep the boy's leg with his own. The boy fell to the ground with a thud.

Keeping his momentum going, Naruto placed both of his hands on the ground so he was now in a spinning handstand. He brought his leg from full extension down onto his opponent's mid section as his own shoulder blades hit the ground. A silent cry of pain came from the boy's mouth as bits of blood were spit out.

When the boy opened his eyes he saw Naruto straddling him, his left fist forward and the other cocked back ready for the finishing blow.

"Dead," Naruto shouted, still use to his sparring sessions with Bruno and Ishiri. Naruto stood up panting as the others stood there in shock even as Iruka was naming Naruto the winner.

 _Did . . . Did his eyes turn yellow during that fight?_ Iruka thought as he looked at Naruto with surprise. He was shook from his thoughts.

"He cheated," the boy yelled as he jumped up. "No way he could ever get that good! He's the dobe, the dead last." Shouts of agreement resounded throughout the class. No one believed Naruto could win by himself, not without either a miracle or cheating. All but a few were shouting for a redo.

Hinata looked on, twiddling her fingers together as a small blush worked across her smiling face. _H-He is called a failure y-yet he works so hard. Look at what he has done! W-Way to go Naruto, I wish I was as con-confident as you are._

Sasuke, on the other hand, was seething behind grinding teeth. _How did he get so good so fast? There is no way the dobe learned that on his own. He must have an extra tutor, but why waste time on him when I am the genius?_

Mizuki also hid his grinding teeth behind a smile. His plans were unfolding before his very eyes. If Naruto had improved so much in taijutsu then what else could he have improved on? At this rate he wouldn't fail as planned, but Danzo had said the boy would fail, he guaranteed it!

Iruka held a smile on his face, he was really proud about his favorite student's progress. "Naruto didn't cheat students. This is what happens when you work hard and apply yourself." The students just blew off the Chunin except from on indigo-haired girl who was nodding sheepishly in the back, her eyes focused on Naruto with a smile on her face.

Ishiri watched with amusement as the rest of the trainees were put through spars. Not many were good fights and two refused to fight each other, some kid who couldn't keep his hands out of a bag of potato chips and a lazy boy with a pineapple hair cut. Ishiri's ears perked up at the next announcement.

"Alright let's move on," Iruka said to the class. Naruto beamed a smile until he heard what they would be doing. "Line up and we will test your Clone Jutsu. First up will be Haruno Sakura."

Ishiri groaned as he put his head on the limb he was sitting on. He put his paws over his eyes. "Not the Clone Jutsu. Give him the Transformation or Substitution Jutsu but not the Clone Jutsu, anything but that." He lifted a paw when he heard his partner's name called.

Naruto stepped in front of the line. He looked at Iruka sheepishly before going through the needed hand seals. "Clone Jutsu," Naruto announced with blue chakra circling and twisting around him. A puff of smoke enveloped him and the surrounding kids.

Naruto coughed and waved his arms around to clear the smoke away. He opened his eyes to see a sickly Naruto clone fluttering around like a piece of paper in the wind before falling done much to everyone's amusement. Naruto felt his temper begin to come undone. He went through the hand signs and tried it again and again with the same result each time.

"Alright, alright Naruto that is enough," Iruka said with a sad smile on his face. "We'll work on it later."

Naruto looked on as the other kids did perfect, or close to perfect, clones. He remembered his failed clones and smiled slightly. _Well they were better than this summer I guess._

Next up was kunai throwing. Sasuke was the first to go. He jumped into the air and did a little twirl, releasing all the kunai at once. Each kunai resounded with a thud, perfectly imbedded in each of the five targets. The girls fawned over him as he stuck his hands back into his pockets and walked away.

Naruto was up next. While he wasn't as proficient as the Uchiha he manage to hit the bullseye on three of the five tries and hit all the targets, which managed to get him into second among the male students. Again shouts of accusations were thrown around as he stepped out of the throwing area.

Ishiri looked on with shock as the boys missed the bullseye on majority of their throws and some the target all together. Weren't they ninja? This should have been second nature to them. What made him cringe the most was the fact some of wanna be kunoichi couldn't even imbed the kunai into the target. _And Naruto was the dead last how?_

That would become clear as the chakra control session was completed. The objective was easy: expel chakra to keep a pingpong ball in the air for five seconds. Everyone seemed to easily do this except for Naruto. They were still searching for his. Ishiri heard the exclamation of 'OW' about hundred yards away. He looked up to see a slight breeze in that direction. _Yep seems about right._

Overall Naruto couldn't complain. He had showed off his new skills much to Iruka's enjoyment. Naruto actually felt excited for the upcoming year of classes.

•••••

Naruto's enthusiasm didn't last as he sat on a swing in the courtyard of the academy, watching as parents or older siblings picked up his classmates. He hated this part of the academy more than anything else. He would go through taijutsu katas all day long if it meant he didn't have to see this sight.

What made it worse were the civilian parents who would openly scowl at him when passing. At least the shinobi parents averted their eyes, it made it seem like they didn't completely hate him.

He swung underneath the tree the swing was under thinking about how it would be to have a family who loved him.

•••••

"Hey Luna-sama?" Naruto asked through panting breathing. He looked up to see the curious gaze of the matriarch fixed on him.

"Yes young one?" she asked with curiosity. The young blood had been particularly quiet today during ninjutsu practice much to her worry. He had never been this quiet.

"Can you tell me about my clan?" he asked. He saw a small wince from the large silver vixen.

Luna averted her eyes from her young charge. Unfortunately her eyes fell on her son, Ishiri. She remembered Naruto never had a family, never knew what it was like to have a clan. She pictured what Ishiri would be like, shunned by his kind, no one to look after him. She often wondered how Naruto had survived this long. _He deserves to know. Even if it hurts to tell him._

"They were an interesting clan," she said, still looking at Ishiri. "They were loud mouthed, ill tempered and stubborn to a fault, but they were also kind and gentle. They would throw a party and made sure everyone was invited. They were also ruthless in battle. It was funny: they would be your enemy one minute and then your best friend the next." She sighed as she remembered the harder parts of the lost clan. "They were known for a few things. They were known for their red hair and green eyes, obviously something you got from your father, whoever it was. More importantly they were known for their long life, immense chakra reserves, and their proficiency in both fuinjutsu and kenjutsu. It was these traits that lead to their downfall."

Naruto saw the pain in the large vixen's eyes. She wasn't taking this talk well. "What happened to them?"

Luna sighed as she turned back to the curious boy. "They once had their own village. They built it in Uzu no Kuni and their village was named Uzushiogakure. It was nicknamed 'The Village of Longevity' for the long life spans of the Uzumaki Clan. During the Third Shinobi War they were targeted. Weighed downed by major battles and other small skirmishes Konoha was unable to send reinforcements to Uzu no Kuni. They arrived to the sight of Uzu burning and buildings crumbling. They were a day late." Luna stopped and sighed, trying to push through the last bit of her story. "The Uzumaki live on, scattered throughout the Five Elemental Nations." She turned to Naruto and a brief smile made its way onto her face. "You do their memory proud little one."

Naruto sat there and digested the story, it was a lot to take in. "I wish I could meet the survivors," he said finally. "It would be nice to have a clan, ya know? I always wanted to know how it felt like to have a family."

"Oh but you do Naruto-chan," Luna said with a small smile on her lips. "You are a member of the Kitsune Clan. You are without a family no more."

•••••

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts by an orange tail waving in front of his face. "Oi earth to Naruto," Ishiri said jokingly. "Come on we got to get going or else Kaa-chan is gonna be furious. You have to have energy after that boring day." Ishiri jumped off his head and into his backpack. He rustled around before sticking his head back up. "Now come on! We got real training to do!"

Naruto's smile returned as he threw himself from the swing and began his run out into the woods. "Yeah you're right. I still have enough energy to kick your butt." Naruto snickered as he heard his friend's response. Luna was right: he was a part of a clan.


	5. Tracking Challenge: Inuzuka vs Uzumaki!

**Hey guys! I am really, really excited about this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write and is one of the longer chapters I have written. I hope you guys like the interactions of the characters and that they really capture how the characters would really act. I hope you enjoy it too!**

 **As always please review if you find time in your busy schedules. If you have likes, dislikes, advice on how I can improve or just have thoughts in general please review this fic.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

Naruto had his head down on the top of the desk thoroughly enjoying a nap before a screech of disbelief, followed by a second, awoke him from his slumber. He opened his eyes, vision still blurry, to see the class was circled around the newest chart showing their most recent testing results.

"Iruka-sensei this can't be right," came a shout of disbelief. "There is no way the mutt _and_ the dobe got better test grades than me." Naruto raised an eyebrow as a fuming Sasuke came storming out of the circle. "The dobe has never gotten an A in his life and now all of the sudden he aces the hardest exam of the year?"

Both of Naruto's eyebrows rose at this. The test hadn't been that hard. For the past month the class had been going over tracking and stealth. Naruto's enthusiasm was quickly curved when all they had done was theoretical work in class and very basic exercises out in the training grounds. How to back track, crawl on your stomach and creating camouflage to match the environment and other basic things had been covered before going onto how to follow an enemy ninja using the terrain.

Naruto snoozed through the theoretical work while goofing off when they went outside. It wasn't that he didn't like the classes but he already knew everything. Even the more advanced techniques were covered by the Yin-Yang Brothers and taken even further during their daily games of cat and mouse. Compared to that the classes at the academy were a piece of cake.

Naruto impressed both Iruka and Mizuki as he walked through the techniques and pointing out the little nuisances of tracking even they didn't know. Had they not tried to not release the supposed genjutsu they were under they would have thought Naruto was a disguised ANBU pranking them. The most impressive part had easily been the written test. Iruka and Mizuki graded his test three different times. The test over tracking and stealth was known as the hardest test given by the academy. Usually half the class failed and no one had ever aced the written portion, let alone the full test.

"Oi what is all the commotion?" Ishiri mumbled from his curled position on Naruto's lap. "The hell is Mr. Moody all bent out of shape about?" Ishiri had gone with Naruto to class the entire school year and managed to stay hidden. During the more boring classes he would constantly be found messing with Akamaru, making the ninken sit outside on multiple occasions and each time he would be no where in sight.

"Apparently I aced the test," Naruto whispered back as he stared at the murmuring circle in the front of the room.

"You sure they didn't get something wrong? It's you we're talking about here," Ishiri said before ducking into Naruto's backpack as the whiskered boy rose to his feet.

"Yeah I know right?" Naruto chuckled. He walked up to the chart and began to search for his name. Out of habit he began at the bottom. He scrunched his brows together as he looked at the bottom to see a civilian kid's name there. His smile began to grow as his eyes began to make his way up the charts until he was beaming a full smile. "Uchiha Sasuke: 97%. Inuzuka Kiba: 98%. And the most bad ass ninja in Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto a 100%!" Naruto was smiling before hitting the board in front of him.

Behind him was a fuming Haruno Sakura. "Oi you got lucky baka," she shouted. "No way are you better than Sasuke-kun. He will wipe the floor with you in the field test."

"The field test?" Naruto looked at Sakura with a look of confusion earning a huff of annoyance.

"You really are a baka," Sakura muttered before looking at the blond boy. "The tracking and stealth test has two portions: the written and the field test. Both are worth half of your grade in the subjects but don't worry you won't beat Sasuke-kun at that part. No one has aced that part of the test ever."

"But I beat him at the written portion what makes you think I wouldn't do it in the field portion too?"

"Because you are a baka," Ino and Sakura responded at the same time to the laughter of the rest of the class.

"Geez a congratulations would have been nice at least," Naruto muttered under his breath. He was disappointed that he didn't have a single person congratulate him like they all did 'Sasuke-kun' whenever he got the highest grade in the class.

"N-nice job Na-Naruto-kun. Congratulations." Naruto turned to see Hinata standing near the charts while playing with her fingers. "I-I think you will do great tomorrow be-because you always do your best."

Naruto chuckled, placing a hand behind his head. "Hey thanks Hinata! I bet you'll ace tomorrow too."

Hinata's faint pink blush turned rose red as her eyes got wide and quickly averted them to the ground. "Y-you really think so Naruto-kun?" she asked quietly.

Before Naruto could respond Iruka interrupted. "Alright class settle down and return to your seats. Naruto well done on the written portion. Really impressive." Naruto beamed up at his sensei who returned it with one of his own. "Now tonight make sure you get enough sleep. Tomorrow is the field test and you will want to be well rested because it will be very intense. Understood?" Once he was satisfied that all his students understood he dismissed them early.

•••••

"So how are we gonna beat the pants off that smug mutt and his owner tomorrow?" Ishiri asked from his spot in Naruto's backpack. They had just gotten done with their training with the Yin-Yang Brothers to ensure Naruto was ready for tomorrow's field portion.

"We? Ishiri I want to pass this thing on my own like I did on the written portion," Naruto answered back.

Ishiri's jaw dropped at his partner's response. He took his paw and hit him on the head. Ignoring the Jinchuriki he began his tirade. "You are gonna let that Inuzuka use his less than useless mutt while you have me as your ace in the hole? Hell if you really wanted to win and get done with it fast then you'd summon Shadow and Twilight-sensei. They'd get it done so fast it would make that white furball's head spin. Stuck up ninken thinking he is better than me because he can sit anywhere he wants in class. Gets the attention of all the girls in the room and gets his ears scratched. Bah spoiled baka." Ishiri turned his nose up at the end of his tirade.

"Do I sense a bit of jealousy Ishiri?" Naruto prodded with a smirk. "I thought you said that Akamaru wasn't an issue to a 'clever and awesome fox' like you."

"It isn't fair Naruto," Ishiri shot back. "He gets to parade around like he his all high and mighty because he gets to hang out with his partner in plain daylight. We're partners too Naruto and you know I could beat the pants off that straggly mutt. It isn't fair that he gets to be out in the open while I sit in a backpack next to unused scrolls and pencils. Please Naruto, let me help you."

Naruto put his hand under his chin as he thought about Ishiri's argument before the bump on the back of his head reminded him of earlier that day. He had aced that test fair and square and yet no one believed he could do it. He had finally proven he was good at something only to be mocked and hit on the back of the head. Even though he had been the best in the class, he had been labeled the dobe. He gritted his teeth as the determination returned to his eyes with full force.

"I'm sorry Ishiri but I can't do that," Naruto stated. A screech of disbelief came from the orange fox but Naruto raised his hand to stop any type of argument from passing the kitsune's lips. "Ishiri, I have to prove to them that I can beat those guys and everyone else. Especially on my own two feet. I can't be expecting someone to come in and help me when I am caught in a tight spot."

"But we're partners," Ishiri said. His ears were lowered and a sad look was in his eyes. "We're supposed to do these things together."

"Remember how you felt when the foxes your age mocked you for thinking you found a new summoner?" Ishiri raised his eyebrow at his partner before slowly nodding his head. "Well it is kind of the same thing for me: I want to prove them wrong. For my entire life I have been put down as a loser, as someone who couldn't be anything and I want to prove them wrong. I know we are partners but sometimes you have to prove to yourself that you can do something on your own. Does that make sense?"

Ishiri crawled into Naruto's backpack and stayed there for a bit as Naruto walked back to his apartment. The more he thought about it the more he realized he had put his own, selfish feelings above those of his partner's. He knew Naruto looked upon him as an equal and not merely a ninken like Akamaru. Still, it hurt to know that he would again take a back seat to the furball. He couldn't deny what Naruto said was true; his own battle was fought on similar terms. He was against everyone else who thought he was nothing and he had proven them wrong.

Ishiri heard the click of the doorknob to Naruto's apartment and peaked his head out before crawling out and sitting on the kitchen table. He stayed quiet, looking at his dinner while Naruto scarfed his down. "Alright Naruto I understand," he finally said as he looked up to his partner. Naruto tilted his head, as he looked at the young kitsune will a puzzled expression. "About tomorrow. I am not ecstatic about it but I understand that you need to do this on your own. Just know that if you need me I am just one summons away."

Naruto wiped his mouth of stray particles of food. He gave his partner a slight smile, he knew how much something like this would mean to him. "Thanks a lot Ishiri and I promise that next time we will beat the pants off of Kiba and Akamaru as a team. Deal?"

Ishiri had a smile on his face as he nodded slightly. "Deal."

•••••

"Alright students this will be your last test of the year before your finals," Iruka said with five ANBU standing behind him. Each of the students looked up to the ANBU with wide eyes, even Sasuke was thinking his sensei had blown a fuse. "Each of these five ANBU will be hidden throughout the surrounding areas outside of the village and the village itself. The area where they can hide will be three kilometers from the outside of the wall and everything within that radius. Their hiding spots have been determined already. Each of you will have these," Iruka said as he lifted a piece of paper with five marks on it. "Each ANBU member will have a stamp at their location. Each stamp is worth a different value. ANBU please introduce yourself and the point value you represent."

The first one to step up was a burly looking ninja, possibly male, with a ferret mask on. "I am Ferret and I will be worth 15 points." He stepped back to allow the next ANBU member to step to the front.

"I am Boar and I am worth 20 points," said the blood haired ninja with the mask that resembled the hog on it. Judging by his voice he was also male.

He stepped back and the next person to step up was an ANBU with long brown hair. "I am Wolf and I am worth 30 points."

Following her was a man with a bird mask on who claimed he was worth 40 points.

The last ANBU to step forward wore a cat mask with long, purple hair flowing freely behind her lithe form. "And I am Cat. I am worth 60 points. I will be the most difficult to find. No one has gotten my stamp in 3 years." The voice made it sound like the person was smirking behind the mask. The rest of class looked at her with wide eyes.

Iruka was about to speak but was interrupted when he saw a raised hand. "Yes Sakura?"

"Iruka-sensei there is enough points to be worth 165 points. Is that how much our test is worth?"

"Very good question Sakura. No the test is not worth 165 points. This test is instead graded on a curve of sorts. You will have five hours to find enough points and return here before time runs out. A D is anything above 40 points, a C 50 points, B 60 and finally an A is 80 points." Iruka silenced the outcry at how far the differences was between an A and a B. He continued on. "There is one important thing to know and that is if you do not return with your paper to the academy within the allotted time then you will receive a zero."

"When does the test start?" Sasuke asked deadpanned. He was bound and determined to not let Naruto or Kiba beat him this time. Once was bad enough but he would not let it become a habit.

"We will give the ANBU 30 minutes to get to their hiding spots. During that time the doors will be shut and the blinds closed so you cannot see in what direction they are headed. Any questions?" Iruka smiled as he saw all his students shake their heads. "Good and with that, ANBU if you please."

No sooner had Iruka finished then one of the ANBU threw a spoke bomb onto the ground. The smoke settled to show that the members of the ANBU team had vanished into thin air. Iruka looked on with a smile as his student quit coughing. He looked to see the looks of surprise and awe that filled their eyes, mixed with fear. _This is the first part of the test. If they are afraid of who they are tracking they will unknowingly miss obvious signs and lose their trail. We'll see if any of them have what it takes to be a tracker._ Iruka looked on to see three pairs of eyes dead set with determination. _Those three could make the best tracking team Konoha has ever seen if they could ever work together._

Hinata looked on with slight fear and trepidation as the ANBU seemingly vanished. Her fear and tepidness vanished when she looked on her crush. He stood there with a steely look in his gaze, his deep blue eyes shining with determination. That look gave her will power, however small it might have been, to try something bold. She was going to ask Naruto if he wanted to do this test together, as a team. She gulped before clenching her fists and taking a shaky first step, only to yelp when Kiba got in her way.

"Come with me Hinata," Kiba said pointing to himself. "With your eyes, Akamaru's nose and my awesome tracking skills we'll get an A on this test easily. In fact we will get all 165 of them!" His shouts of pride were quickly derailed by a snort of disbelief.

"As if," Sasuke stated. "You and the dobe got lucky with the written portion but I will show you who the best around here is."

"That's right! Sasuke-kun will win for sure and I am gonna be there the entire step of the way," Sakura said with a proud smirk on her face.

"Yeah right billboard brow," Ino responded back. "Sasuke-kun wouldn't be able to see anything past your massive forehead. He'd be better off with me." Ino accentuated her point by flicking her hair and putting a hand on her hip. Sasuke scowled as the two girls created a dust cloud in the ensuing brawl before Iruka had to break the pair up. How he hated fangirls.

Hinata looked at the girls with a far off stare before Kiba brought her back into the present. "Huh? Oh um . . . I-I'm sorry K-Kiba-kun but I-I-I was planning on ma-maybe going with someone else this time." Hinata hated herself for not speaking up more enthusiastically and expressing what she really wanted. She liked Kiba but she admired Naruto and wanted to work with him.

"You can't be thinking about Naruto-baka," Kiba stated once he saw her look his way. Hinata turned red as a tomato at the statement. "He may have gotten the best grade on the written part of the test but no one is better than the Inuzuka at tracking except maybe the Hyuga. That's why we'd make the perfect team. What do you say Hinata?"

Hinata looked into his eyes and saw the absolute joy that the proposition gave him. She couldn't possibly disappoint him, could she? "Al-alright Kiba-kun."

"Yahoo! Alright that's what I'm talking about," Kiba shouted. Akamaru barked happily at the top of his head. "You here that Naruto? You are going down."

"Yeah right mutt," Naruto answered back, not really worrying about the Inuzuka. "You couldn't find your own food dish if it wasn't for your mommy having to point it out to you."

Kiba fumed at the insult. He couldn't let this dobe get the best of him in front of Hinata. He had to show who the top dog really was. It wasn't Sasuke and it certainly wasn't Naruto. It was him. "Nobody has the senses Akamaru and I have. We are the best tracking duo in the village."

Naruto clenched his fists together when he heard that accusation. The best tracking duo in Konoha was Ishiri and himself. "No you aren't," he shouted back.

"Psh yeah right and who is gonna stop us? You?"

"Damn right I am," Naruto answered back, now nose to nose with the Inuzuka.

"No way can some mangy stray ever compete with a purebred," Kiba stated with arrogance.

"What did you say?" Naruto could feel his teeth being grinded away. He was not some stray mutt. He was an Uzumaki, of the Uzumaki clan and more importantly he was a member of the Kitsune Clan and he'd be damned if he let anyone talk bad about them.

"You heard me."

"I'll show you. I'll get all 165 points and beat you back here dattebayo!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"It's on then."

"Yeah it is."

Both boys were nose to nose and growling at each other like two wolves fighting for the position of alpha male. They stood there until they heard the announcement of the beginning of the test. Before Hinata could say anything to calm them down, they were out the door with a trail of dust following them.

Kiba quickly picked up the sent of the first ANBU member and headed off into the village while Naruto made a beeline for the forests. _Idiot. There wasn't a single scent that went that way. I have got this thing in the bag._ Kiba thought as he took off across the rooftops.

Naruto didn't see any footprints or signs at all that a member of the ANBU team had entered the forest, right now he didn't care about that. He found himself a nice covering under a small tree. He took another quick look around to see that no one had followed. He took a deep breath in before biting his thumb and rapidly going through hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu," he yelled while slapping the ground. Once the smoke vanished, Ishiri appeared half asleep and looking around with a confused look on his face.

"Is this a dream or something?" he asked with dazed eyes. His gaze met Naruto's before something finally clicked in his head. "Oi, Naruto, what is it?"

"You ready to beat Kiba and put Akamaru in his place?" Naruto didn't hesitate or beat around the bush. He was serious.

Ishiri's ears perked up quickly at the mention of his rival before a look of curiosity came to his eyes. "What changed your mind?"

"We are gonna prove to him, and everyone else, who the best tracking duo of Konoha really are," Naruto said with a proud smile on his face. "Are you in?"

Ishiri bounced onto his feet with a smile that stretched from one ear to the other. "You bet I am. Let's kick some butt!" And just like that the duo was sprinting back to the academy to catch up on lost time.

•••••

"Dattebayo! That's three down and two more to go," Naruto exclaimed happily. With Ishiri's help they were zooming through the test. The first had been rather easy. A simple trail that lead to the top of a tree not more than a kilometer away from the academy. That had been worth 15 points. The next track took them past a couple creeks and into the trees before finding the second ANBU worth 20 points. The third had been a little trickier.

Wolf had use a series of easy to release genjutsu but they were hard to figure out. The genjutsu covered the tracks, bent limps, and downed grass that would have given away her destination with ease. The trickiest part had been when the ANBU put a genjutsu on herself to hide at the base of a tree. Had it not been for a slight mistake, obviously made for the test, in the pattern of the bark, Naruto would have passed right over her spot and been running around trying to find her.

During the test Ishiri would be right next to Naruto until about 300 meters from the position of the ANBU to stay hidden and still a secret. Ishiri had been key in keeping the track of the second ANBU when the he had crossed the river. He had kept the scent easily while the tracks had disappeared in the bed of the creek.

The duo were off again to find the tracks of the fourth ANBU, Bird, and where he had vanished to. As they were about to enter a clearing, Ishiri ducked into a bush. Naruto froze when he heard the sound of someone coming. He paused before Akamaru appeared followed closely by Kiba.

"Get out of our way Naruto," Kiba growled. "We are close to getting our fourth stamp. Bet you haven't even found three yet."

"Don't worry about me Kiba," Naruto shot back. "Just worry about how you'll look when you have to show up at your compound with your tail between your legs."

With a snarl Kiba and Akamaru were off again toward the awaiting ANBU. Naruto wasn't really worried. Kiba wasn't good at genjutsu, he wasn't either, but he had practice with tracking genjutsu. Shaking his head of the thoughts he was off again, quickly joined by Ishiri.

"Those two annoy me," Ishiri announced while keeping pace with the whiskered boy.

"Yeah me too but we can't worry about them. Remember what Twilight-sensei taught us about staying calm and not distracted," Naruto said.

"Yeah yeah," Ishiri brushed off the reminder before mimicking Twilight's voice. "Tracking Rule #5: don't let emotions cloud your judgment and don't lose focus. Hypocrite. All you have to do is show him a picture of a vixen and he is stunned for at least 5 minutes. Pervert."

The duo chuckled before coming to the point where Bird's tracks diverged from Wolf's. "Ok here we are," Naruto said calmly. "You got a trace Ishiri?"

Ishiri raised his head into the air and gave a sniff before lowering his head and thinking. "This one is a little trickier Naruto. It seems he did a bunch of back tracking and doubling or tripling over his tracks."

"Dammit," Naruto cursed his luck. He didn't know how much time he had left but he couldn't waste it, not when Kiba and Akamaru were already ahead of their team. "Ok let's go with the strongest scent and work backwards."

Ishiri nodded before taking off in the direction of the smell. The route took them into a small clearing before Ishiri again paused. He walked to a base of a tree and looked up before heading over to another treeing and repeating the process. He sat down in the middle of the clearing and rubbed his nose.

"What is it?" Naruto asked his partner.

"There is the same scent but it goes off in multiple directions. The worst part is they are all about the same intensity," Ishiri said while rubbing his nose. "I don't know if I put my nose into something or what but it all smells the same to me."

Naruto looked back up to the trees and saw something before closing his eyes and shaking his head. He opened his eyes to reveal a gleam in them. "It isn't you Ishiri, that ANBU had a nice little trick. He used this clearing as a point of reference. He would leave the clearing before returning to it in some other direction. Look here." Naruto pointed to a branch that was bent toward the forest before pointing to another set that was slightly pushed into the center of the clearing. "I bet you they have the same scent on them."

Ishiri quirked an eyebrow before bounding near the two sets and sniffed each of them. He snorted his nose before jumping back and joining Naruto in the middle of the clearing. "Yeah you're right. They are about the same intensity. The tracks are so new that it is hard to tell which one was the first and which one is the last. Why would he do something like that?"

"To keep us going in a circle and waste time," Naruto pointed out. "This technique is used when you are caught but need to stay near a destination, usually used by assassins. They mask their movements by doing this, keeping trackers and ninjas using scent, while they stay perfectly hidden. Usually buys them enough time to make their hit and then they are off."

"Ok that explains that but it doesn't explain where he went," Ishiri complained. "We basically are starting with nothing. Caught in a maze of useless scents and pointless tracks."

Naruto sat down next to his partner as both took in the things they knew about the tracks before a light bulb came into Naruto's mind. "Hey Ishiri how do you get through a maze without a finish?"

Ishiri looked up to the blond boy who was beaming a smile his way. He saw no point in the question before answering. "Well by not entering it of course," he stated as if it was obvious.

"Then that is exactly what were are going to do. We are going to go back to the beginning where we entered his maze," Naruto said before jumping off into the trees, followed quickly by Ishiri.

They came to the spot where Wolf and Bird's scents diverged. "Ok Naruto we are back to the start but I still don't see the point of this," Ishiri said as he looked at the tree where they were perched in. "I don't see anything here."

"Exactly," Naruto smirked. "Go hide in a bush. I will right back with our fourth stamp."

Ishiri quirked an eyebrow before bounding off into a nearby bush. Naruto waited until his partner was well hidden before jumping further up the tree. Naruto looked around before slapping his forehead. Sitting with his feet up and leaning back in a makeshift nest was Bird.

"Some of you ANBU take your names way too seriously," Naruto muttered shocking Bird from the scroll he was reading.

"Hmm interesting, wasn't expecting you to be the third student to find me," Bird said while he pulled out a stamp with one hand and with the other requested Naruto's paper. "I figured it would have been the Hyuga or Aburame, but I can't say that I am not impressed. Four stamps, well done but don't expect to find Cat."

Bird handed the piece of paper back to Naruto who quickly snatched it from his hands. He looked at the ANBU with a look of annoyance. "Don't underestimate me. I am gonna find the fifth stamp and kick that mutts butt. Believe it!" And with that Naruto was off again.

Bird sat back thinking about his three visitors. He was impressed they had found him so quickly, usually he could read his scroll in peace for the first four hours of the test before maybe one or two found out about his little maze. He pondered about what Iruka and the Hokage had planned for the rookie teams after the next school year. _A tracking team of an Uchiha, Inuzuka and that kid would make one hell of a squad._ He shrugged his shoulders before returning to his scroll.

Ishiri waited patiently in his bush before suddenly moved his tail out of the way of the incoming Naruto. "Oi, Naruto, what have I told you a million times? Watch the tail," Ishiri spat as he held his tell with his front paws clenched to his body. "Did you get it?"

"I don't know you tell me," Naruto said unveiling the sheet of paper. "Does that look like a bird stamp or what?"

"Now we're talking but how did you know he was there?" Ishiri asked.

"A maze leading no where has to have a way to get out of it. There wasn't much to indicate he went up into the trees but we followed every scent and came up empty, figured he had to be somewhere," Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "What better way to hide than in the beginning?"

"Those ANBU are tricky," Ishiri muttered. "Well come on we got one last stamp to find. Let's go."

"First we got to go back to the academy," Naruto said while shooting off toward the academy.

"Why do you say that?" Ishiri asked from Naruto's shoulder. He was hanging on as the boy was taking off toward the school.

"Because the last set of tracks leads into the village. I am going to grab my backpack before we head that way so you can come with me and won't have to hide."

"I like it," Ishiri said with a smile. "Team Kitsune is gonna win it all."

"You know it dattebayo!" Naruto shouted.

Naruto snuck in to find his backpack. He took a quick peak at who had turned theirs in already. He wasn't surprise to see Shikamaru had turned in the first three stamps then quit, he was lazy as ever. Joining him was Choji who was snacking on potato chips. No surprise. Naruto snuck back out before finding Ishiri in a tree by the academy grounds.

Ishiri yipped happily before jumping into Naruto's backpack. Naruto had the topped slightly unzipped so he could hear Ishiri and the little fox could also pick up on any scent they found. Liking the set up, Naruto dashed off to where he saw the tracks.

He and Ishiri followed the tracks before coming to a screeching halt. They stood in the middle of the busiest market in Konoha. With the Hokage's tower a stones throw away adding to the foot traffic, the footprints came to a screeching halt. "Ishiri can you pick up on the scent?" Naruto whispered to his partner.

Ishiri readjusted himself in the bag so he could get a better whiff of the outside area. "No Naruto there is too much interference. I am smelling baked goods, onions, fishes and a whole lot of flowers but not a trace of an ANBU."

"Ok how about we back track. Maybe she didn't come this way," Naruto suggested.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea," Ishiri agreed.

The duo went back to where they lost the track only to return to the same spot they had stood in the last time. "Check the shops. Maybe she went in there and then through the backdoors," Ishiri whispered from spot in Naruto's backpack.

"You know I can't get in there Ishiri," Naruto answered back. "I'm surprised I'm not being kicked out of the market as it is."

"Well I can always henge into a cat and sneak in," Ishiri suggested. Naruto slapped his forward. Why hadn't they thought about that before? They really were bakas! Naruto walked into an alley. Jumping behind a dumpster he took his backpack off and let Ishiri out. The young fox transformed into a cat before purring and strutting off.

 _He is such a ham._ Naruto thought as he followed the disguised fox with his eyes. Ishiri entered the businesses without as much a second thought to the owners. He would look around before coming out and shaking his head. After thoroughly checking all the businesses he returned to Naruto's side.

"Any luck?" Naruto asked.

"Unless Cat was henged into one of those demon children then no such luck," Ishiri muttered. He had been chased out of a daycare he had inspected. The kids were so excited to see a kitty that one had given his tail a rather harsh tug. The daycare was still is a mass frenzy after he had escaped.

"Some how I doubt that," Naruto said. He winced as he heard a crash coming from the daycare. "Ok good job Ishiri, hop back in."

Ishiri moaned before slinking back into the backpack. Naruto walked back out into the middle of the market. He made a second sweep with his eyes before he heard a commotion. He walked toward the yelling and shouting to see Sasuke and Kiba nose to nose. Or rather Kiba was and Sasuke was just standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"And I'm telling you, mutt, that she isn't here. She probably left somewhere else," Sasuke said to the frustrated Inuzuka.

Kiba was about to respond until he heard a growl from the top of his head. He looked to see Naruto was standing there staring at the two. "Oh great it's Naruto."

"What do you want dobe?" Sasuke questioned.

"You guys looking for Cat too?" Naruto didn't respond to Sasuke's question.

"Yeah, and like I have been telling Kiba here, it is impossible. She is probably tricking us so we forget about our time limit and keep chasing a useless track." Sasuke took a quizzical look at Naruto before continuing on. "What is to you dobe? No way you found the other four stamps."

"Actually that is where you are wrong teme. I have them right here," Naruto answered with a smile. He unfolded the piece of paper to show his four completed stamps. His proud smile turned to a scowl as Kiba took a jab at him.

"Well will wonders never cease?" the Inuzuka asked sarcastically.

"Funny that is what we all said last month when you decided to actually take a bath," Naruto shot back.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me baka."

"You're the baka."

"You both are bakas." The two boys stopped their little spat to look at the Uchiha who just sneered their way. "It's useless attempting to follow this trail. I am going to back to the academy and get my A. You two stay out her and fail if you want." With that the boy put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

"He is Mr. Charming isn't he?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"Yeah no kidding," Kiba answered with a slight smile. His smile quickly vanished before he shook his head, remembering who he was talking to. "Doesn't matter. I am gonna find her before you and I am going to prove who the best tracker is. See ya loser."

Naruto looked on as Kiba ran back to the academy to start over again. Naruto waited a bit before going back to looking at the surrounding area.

"We should follow him," a voiced whispered after a while. "He may be on to something. We never went back all the way to the academy."

"Nah," Naruto brushed off the suggestion. "The teme is wrong, we can find her and Kiba is missing something important."

"What's that?" Ishiri asked.

"What is the number one rule of hunting?"

Ishiri took a second to remember back to their first hunting lesson. He had a curious look on his face as he answered. "Think how your prey would think. But we aren't hunting Naruto."

"In a way we are Ishiri," Naruto pointed out. "Tracking is just hunting a prey that has a kunai. If we start thinking like the ANBU then maybe we will be able to find her more easily."

"Ok well how does an ANBU think?" Ishiri asked from his spot in his backpack.

"That's the thing, if we were really working with the ANBU then they wouldn't have started in the classroom to begin with." Naruto thought about it more before going back to his point. "They would never announce who they were, they would stay in the shadows and we would go from there. They gave us a lot of information."

"Like what?" Ishiri wasn't seeing where this was going but he trusted Naruto enough to play along.

"Well their scent for one. If I hadn't been so stubborn and you had been there then we would have found the first three way faster. That gave people like Kiba a huge advantage." Ishiri nodded at the logic. It made sense so far. "Next was their appearance. That would help everyone but especially Hinata who could see through bushes and stuff. If she knows what she is looking for then she will be able to find them a lot faster." Again Ishiri seemed to agree with the logic but that still add everything up.

"Ok then why do that? It makes it easier for everyone," Ishiri observed.

"Because we will focus too much on our senses and not on logic. Like rule number four said-"

"Where senses fail, intuition and logic prevail," Ishiri finished his partner's statement with a smile. "Ok then now where to?"

"She will be in a place where the smell will stop any tracking that way," Naruto began.

"The market makes sure of that," Ishiri pointed out.

"Exactly. That takes care of the nose. Next comes the eyes. The market place sort of takes care of that. With all the foot traffic, any sort of footprints that would be left would vanish," Naruto explained only for Ishiri to interrupt him from continuing.

"What do you mean by 'sort of' Naruto?" Ishiri was really confused. It seemed like that would completely take away any tracking by the eyes.

"Hinata's Byakugan can still peer through things so if she really wants to eliminate the eyes then she'll have to be someplace where no vision can penetrate." Naruto smiled as he saw the perfect place. "I know exactly where she is."

Naruto took to the roofs. He made a beeline to the last place someone would check: the Hokage's tower. He went to the window that lead to Jiji's office. He smirked when saw it wasn't completely shut. To someone who wasn't looking for it, it would seem shut and locked, but Naruto saw the slight difference. Without pausing he threw the window open and bounded in.

Hiruzen, dressed in his Hokage robes and hat, was enjoying a nice day. He was taking a break from his paper work, which had diminished since Naruto had stopped his rampant pranks. He had missed seeing the boy every other day but he did not miss the paper work. _I wonder how little Naruto-kun is doing?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the window being flung open and a flash of yellow appearing in front of him only to vanish and reappear around the room. "What is the meaning of this?" he shouted from behind his desk. The yellow blur froze in place. Hiruzen sighed as he saw Naruto standing there with a sheepish smile and a hand behind his head. "Naruto-kun you are not in trouble again are you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not this time Jiji," he said. Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow at the obviously excited boy. "I'm looking for Cat. You know the ANBU with a cat mask and pretty purple hair. I know she is in here."

Hiruzen chuckled at the boy. He had forgotten that today was the tracking test for the academy. He was proud that Naruto had figured it out. He was one of the three people to have ever figured out the hiding spot of the fifth ANBU. "Well Cat it seems that you have been found."

Naruto looked around before hearing the sound of clapping coming from a darkened corner. He looked to see Cat fade into existence. "Very good Naruto. You are the first person to find me since I began helping the academy administer the test. Congratulations."

"Yeah yeah I just need you to stamp this," Naruto said quickly, handing the ANBU the piece of paper. "Quickly I don't have much time."

Cat chuckled as she took the piece of paper and put her stamp on it. Naruto vanished through the window as quickly as he came. "I wonder if he knows he still has an hour left?" she pondered to the amusement of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"But his reaction would not have been as amusing if he knew he shattered the old record now would it?" he quipped from behind his chair.

"No I suppose it wouldn't," Cat answered the Hokage. _That kid could make one hell of an ANBU one of these days._

•••••

Naruto burst through the doors of the classroom, frantically waving his paper around for Iruka to see. "I'm here I'm here," he shouted frantically. "I'm not late am I Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka looked at the boy curiously before checking the clock. "Nope it seems you are an hour early Naruto. Did you get enough to get an A?" His eyes widened as he took the paper from the young Jinchuriki. He had all five stamps.

"Not only did I get an A but I got all five stamps," he shouted with pride in his voice.

"What? No way," Sasuke grabbed the paper from Iruka to see all five stamps were obtained by the dead last. "Where did you get this dobe?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Naruto said with a smirk on his face.

Iruka just shook his head as the two boys went back and forth with each other. He would have to ask the ANBU how Naruto did it. It wasn't that he didn't believe Naruto, it's just that he shattered the old record by thirty minutes. Naruto was defiantly finding his own niche as a ninja and he was damn proud of his student.

Sasuke was again grinding his teeth. How could the dobe do what he couldn't? It was unthinkable and it irked him to no end. Naruto had made huge advancements this year while he felt like he stayed in the same place. He trained and trained and trained yet still found himself not getting stronger yet here was the dobe improving immensely. It infuriated him to the core.

Hinata walked in and sheepishly gave Iruka her piece of paper. Iruka looked down to see Hinata had gotten an A. She obtained four of the stamps. "Well done Hinata. Very good."

"Th-thank you Iruka-sensei. I tried my best," she said with a small smile on her face while she looked away from the Chunin.

"Did I hear Iruka right Hinata? Did you really get four stamps?" Hinata blushed when she turned to Naruto and gave him a tentative nod. "I told you Hinata. I knew you could it," Naruto said enthusiastically. He was lost in his enthusiasm as leapt at the girl, giving her a massive hug.

 _Naruto-kun is hugging me! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?_ Hinata thought frantically. She had turned a bright red. She breathed in, about to speak to him, before passing out in the blonde's arms.

Naruto felt her go limp. "Hinata?" He looked to see the girl had passed out. He set her on a chair and shrugged his shoulders. "Must have been tired from the testing. It was a lot of running around anyways."

The rest of the hour went by fairly quickly as the rest of the students were beginning to file into the room. A lot had dejected faces, only turning in two stamps while others beamed with pride for collecting three. Iruka raised an eyebrow as he saw that so far four students had turned in four or more stamps. _Best results we have ever gotten on this test. Impressive._

"Alright class time is up," Iruka announced, looking at the clock. "Nice job by all. Your scores from the combined tests will be posted after the weekend. Please go ho-"

Iruka was interrupted as Kiba barged through the door. "Iruka-sensei here's my test," he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Sorry Kiba but the five hour time limit has already come and gone. I'm afraid that you get a zero for the field test," Iruka said sadly, looking at the young Inuzuka.

Kiba looked at the clock then back at Iruka with a paled look on his face. "But I was just a minute late Iruka-sensei. Can't you make an exception just this once? I got four stamps!" He showed his teacher his paper.

Iruka grabbed the paper and saw that he had indeed gotten four stamps. That made it even tougher. "I'm sorry Kiba but when you become a ninja then you will be given restrictions on a mission. If you can't follow those restrictions then you put yourself, your teammates and the mission at risk. I'm sorry but you need to learn this lesson now. You fail Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba fell to his knees as Akamaru whimpered on the top of his head. He felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. He didn't mean to be late, he had been searching for Cat and lost track of time. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Naruto standing over him.

He sniffed before brushing his hand off. "What do you want Naruto?" he shouted at the blond boy. "Come to rub it in my face? Is it that it?"

He was surprised when Naruto shook his head. "No that wouldn't be right. I know how hard you worked and you deserve that A Kiba. I'm just over here trying to be a good friend."

"And who says we are friends? Why would I want to be friends with you?" Kiba wasn't mad specifically at Naruto but more at the pity he was getting. It made him feel like a beta and not an alpha. He hated that feeling.

"Because we are gonna both be Konoha ninja soon and that means we'll be comrades," Naruto answered as he stuck his hand out to Kiba. "What do you say?"

Kiba looked at Naruto's hand and thought about his offer. He had a point. If the members of the pack fought it would only weaken them and potentially get them killed. He grabbed his hand shook it strongly. "Alright but don't think I am gonna be losing you to again. You may have gotten me this time but next time you are going down Uzumaki!"

Naruto beamed a smile at the wild looking boy. "You'll have to bring your best if you want to beat me."

With that the two turned away and walked in their separate directions as friends and new rivals. Akamaru was sitting atop Kiba's head before he heard something. He turned back to see Ishiri sticking his head out of Naruto's backpack. The little fox stuck his tongue out at the ninken before returning back to his place in Naruto's backpack. Akamaru sighed, he had lost again to that stinking fox. He really hoped the other ninken never found out now.


	6. Graduation Panic

**Hey guys! I am back with another chapter of Lord of Foxes. So there has been a lot of questions involving the Toad Contract and Jiraiya. I just want to assure my readers that I indeed have a plan. It is a little rough around the edges but it is something I think will make sense and still allow the toads to play a part on the story even though Naruto won't be summoning them. I love characters like 'kichi and 'bunta and can't imagine a Naruto fic without them.**

 **Another thing that has been mentioned is his inheritance. I also have been thinking of a way to incorporate that into the story. I believe I have a good scenario and solution for this. I don't want to just give him a huge estate in Konoha so I came up with another idea that won't be revealed until much later. Overall just trust me when I say that I have a plan.**

 **Like always please read and review this chapter as well as others that maybe you have thoughts on. If you have likes, dislikes, advice on how I can get better or just thoughts in general, please review and tell me!**

 **Now sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 6**

Ishiri yawned from his perch in a tree above the training ground of the academy. The last year at the academy had been rather dull for the two partners. Naruto was frustrated from all the theoretical strategy work done in the classroom and very rarely practiced. He would often struggle on paper tests but would breeze through the field tests. Still, it was the paper test and Clone Jutsu that kept him out of the top portion of his class, being labeled 'dobe' even by those that couldn't beat him in a spar.

Ishiri, on the other hand, wished he could be in the classroom instead of outside, being left to his own devices. He had hit a growth spurt and now came up well past Naruto's knees. No longer being able to hide in Naruto's backpack, Ishiri found himself hanging out either at Naruto's apartment or transforming into a dog and trotting around near the academy.

He had found himself in an awkward position one day when he drifted too close to the Inuzuka compound. An Inuzuka thought he was a stray and had given him a bath before letting him into the kennels where he came face to face with Akamaru. Ishiri and Akamaru sat staring at each other with confusion before he was summoned away by Naruto. To this day it was still the most awkward moment he had found himself in.

Ishiri watched as his partner in crime failed time and again to form a remotely healthy looking clone. He sighed when Naruto finally stopped. _He can preform affinity jutsus just fine, but he can't form one stinking clone? What is going on?_ He waved it off when the class returned to the classroom but the teachers stayed behind. His eyebrows rose a little as he leaned forward. What could they be having a conversation about this late in the year?

Mizuki looked on with a smirk on his face. Naruto had again been unable to form even one viable clone. He had been frustrated. Naruto had improved massively over the past two years, to the point he was one of the top students in the class outside of paper tests and the basic clone jutsu taught at the academy. He was going through the preparations for the final test for the last year academy students when he came upon something that seemed to take his problems away.

He waited for the students to head back into the classroom before getting Iruka's attention. "Iruka can I talk to you about something?" he asked, motioning away from the door.

Iruka looked at his contemporary and then back to his students. Satisfied that they would behave themselves, he walked over to his fellow teacher. "What can I do for you Mizuki?"

"Well it is about Naruto," Mizuki began, pretending to be sorrowful. "You aren't thinking about passing him are you?"

"Why yes I am Mizuki," Iruka answered. He looked at the academy teacher with suspicion. "He has proven to be a fine student and will one day make an excellent ninja. He has more than earned the right to graduate."

"But he hasn't been able to make a single clone." Mizuki growled internally when Iruka didn't pause or hesitate at his remark. This was going to be tougher than he thought. "It is a part of the graduation requirements. The three tenants that the academy teach, genjutsu, ninjutsu and taijutsu, must be met for the applicant to pass. Naruto still has been unable to form one clone. It is on the test and if he can't perform the jutsu then we will have to fail him."

"Rock Lee passed last year's graduation exam and so I will expect the Shinobi Council will not flinch at my request for Uzumaki Naruto to pass the exam," Iruka brushed off the challenge to his decision. "There is precedent for the request and his improvement is well known, specifically by the ANBU who have remarked his tracking and stealth skills."

"You are right, Lee graduated but you have to remember that he had the highest taijutsu scores in the last thirty years," Mizuki pointed out. "With such a score and promise, the council couldn't possibly let a prodigy of that magnitude be stuck because of a technicality."

"Naruto has shown just as much promise due to his hard work and increased skill over the last two years," Iruka said with an annoyed tone in his voice. Mizuki had not put this much interest in the class the past two years. Something just didn't feel right.

"Well that could be because he is your favorite," Mizuki muttered under his breath just loud enough for Iruka to hear.

"Come again?"

Mizuki internally smirked as he saw the look on Iruka's face. He had finally gotten what he wanted, Iruka was beginning to get rattled. "You know as well as I do that the Civilian Council has some power over the academy. Many of the sitting elders on that council have kids in this class or previous classes. Many of those same kids won't pass for similar issues facing Naruto. Unlike Lee, they do not show the same promise as a ninja and so will fail. They will call foul if Naruto passes and their kids don't. They are already complaining about you favoring the boy."

"That is because of his situation," Iruka barked back. "You know as well as I do that Naruto is hated by most of the civilians. The Shinobi Council will back my request."

"I think you are letting your feelings for the boy cloud your judgment Iruka," Mizuki said as he gestured for the two to enter the building. "I am sure that the council will see that and take it into consideration."

Iruka looked at the door and then back to his friend with a worried look on his face. "Perhaps you are right Mizuki." Iruka walked in the academy with a downtrodden look.

Mizuki could no longer hold the victorious smile from appearing on his face. He had finally sewn the seeds of doubt into Iruka's mind. While he thought that Naruto would pass if Iruka's request was to come across the Shinobi Council's eyes with the backing of the ANBU Commander, it would have to reach them first. Right now it looked like that may not even happen.

Ishiri had to bite his tongue to stop the cry of disbelief that wanted to escape. _How could this happen? Naruto has worked so hard, who cares if he hasn't mastered that jutsu, he deserves to graduate. If he fails that will destroy him. I can't let that happen._

Not caring to henge into a dog, he took off toward the Kitsune Library and the elders. _I have to tell Kaa-chan. She'll know what to do._

The Hokage would get multiple reports of a strange orange blur moving quickly through Konoha and into the forests from his ninja the next morning.

•••••

"What?!" Naruto cried out. "That isn't fair! I deserve to graduate."

Ishiri had just got done telling Naruto and the Kitsune elders about the conversation that had transpired between Mizuki and Iruka outside the academy. The others around also voiced their disbelief. They turned to Luna, looking for anything that could be done.

"Luna-sama there has to be something we can do," Ahri spoke. "Is there anyway we could help Naruto-chan?"

"We can continue his training in ninjutsu, skip his tracking, genjutsu and taijutsu practices until he can get the ninjutsu down." Luna paused when she thought about something else. "Naruto-chan when is your exam?"

"It's Friday Luna-sama," Naruto answered.

"That gives us a week," Luna groaned. "That isn't a lot of time considering the progress that you have made on the jutsu so far."

"Which is none," Bruno added in dryly.

"Precisely our problem," Luna responded.

"We could try even more extreme chakra control drills," Ahri offered.

"Possibly but that would most likely take too long," Luna brushed off the idea.

"We could work the boy to the ground," Bruno suggested. "If the boy is run ragged, to the point of exhaustion, then maybe he could actually use the chakra needed, or rather not needed, for the jutsu."

Naruto's eyes widened at the possibility of being put through the ringer by Bruno before Luna put down the idea. "As tempting as that is, it is too risky. If we push the boy too much he may be unable to walk and make it to his finals."

The elders grew quiet while they tossed ideas around in their own minds as Naruto and Ishiri looked on. The duo had given up hope when Suzuki decided to speak up for the first time. "We could put a minor suppression seal on the boy," the brown fox said half-heartedly. "It would be an easy thing, hide the seal under the boy's arm, covered by his clothes. The difficulty is finding the right seal to suppress his chakra just enough to preform the jutsu and not collapse from exhaustion."

"That would be cheating," Ishiri pointed out.

"If you ain't cheating then you ain't trying," Bruno said with a smile. "Suzuki finally has a good idea. It might take a while but it is the most promising."

"But if you are caught cheating then you get killed, or in Naruto's case failed," Luna said before shaking her head. "No no no that won't do either. There has to be something that'll work."

"Why are you underestimating me?" The elders turned to see a red faced Naruto. Naruto felt slighted, he felt like they were calling him the dobe like everyone else. "It sounds like you guys don't believe me. I have done everything that you have given me, I have worked hard and look at what I have done." He motioned to the clearing where there were burn marks and downed trees from his jutsu practices. "I am not some pathetic kid. I work hard and I can do this. Give me pointers in the right direction and I can do it dattebayo!"

The elders looked around at each other, an unheard conversation passing between them, before Luna turned to Naruto. "Alright Naruto, let's begin then shall we?"

Naruto smiled before nodding his head vigorously. The group began to walk toward the training area of the clearing made by a few errant jutsus, all except for Yasu who still looked like he was pondering something. He shrugged his shoulders and headed into the library inside the tree in the middle of the clearing.

•••••

"Even less chakra Naruto-chan," Luna commanded.

The rest of the others looked on as again Naruto failed to create a clone. They had tried a suppression seal to make him sense how much chakra was needed only for the seal to short circuit and leave a burn mark. Suzuki still looked embarrassed about the failure. They had tried to create multiple clones only for them to turn to a smoldering pile on the ground, they hadn't even made a sickly looking Naruto.

They had decided to try the brute force approach: go until either Naruto got it down or he collapsed then try again once he woke up. The night had long since overcome the daylight and plunged the clearing into darkness. The foxes had quickly made a few fires that lit the clearing enough to not bring attention to them but enough to see the results of the jutsu.

Naruto huffed before going down to a knee. He felt every muscle of his body crying in pain, but he never backed down. _Just a little more chakra. That is all I need, just a little more._

 **"As you wish kit."**

Before Naruto could answer the voice, he felt his body begin to burn. He grunted and bent over dry heaving on the ground in front of him.

"Naruto," Ishiri yelled as he rushed to his friend's side. "What's wrong Na-" Before Ishiri could finish he was sent flying across the clearing. He hit a tree with thud before sliding to the ground unconscious.

Naruto yelled in pain as his head shot up. His body was immediately enveloped in a red chakra cloak. The chakra pulsated and whipped around him furiously. He could feel energy coursing through his veins, more than he had every experienced before. His whisker marks grew more pronounced along with enlarged nails accompanied by red eyes with black, vertical slits.

"Naruto-chan you have to calm down," Ahri yelled. The chakra was making her fur whip around madly. She kept her tail in front of her eyes to avoid the blinding light that came off from the whiskered boy.

"It's no use," Luna screamed, her voice barely heard over the roar of the chakra. "That's the chakra of the Kyuubi no Yoko. He can't hear you." She began to panic, if this got out of hand then Naruto could hurt himself or others. If things got truly out of handed then the Kyuubi could escape. She looked to see Suzuki was still with them. "Bruno hold the boy down. Suzuki use a seal to stop the flow of chakra."

"Won't that kill the boy?" he questioned as he dug his claws into the ground so he wasn't thrown back.

"Trust me!"

Suzuki looked to Bruno who gave him a nod. Bruno took off toward the Jinchuriki while Ahri and Luna used water jutsu to cool their charge off. Suzuki's tail was whipping around his body wildly as he went through the needed seals for his fuinjutsu. Suddenly several scrolls of paper came shooting from his body and toward the uncontrollable chakra.

Bruno, who had his fangs on the boy's shoulder and his claws in the ground, jumped out of the way as the paper encircled the boy. The paper encircled the boy before constricting him. The red chakra quickly dissipated.

The foxes took a quick look at one another before tentatively taking a few steps toward the fallen boy. The scrolls began to burn off to reveal a gasping Naruto with several burn marks.

"This can't be," Suzuki muttered. "All of that suppression paper and there is still chakra coming off the boy." The foxes took another look to see faint red lines of chakra still coming from the blond.

"Summon Uki now," Luna shouted. "Tell her to bring two units, one for Ishiri and another for Naruto. Do it now." Luna ran over to her kit who was still on the ground. She heard a poof and turned to see a green fox standing in the clearing. The fox had a black cross on her chest that matched her paws and the tips of her ears.

The vixen took a look around before gasping and dashing over to the unconscious fox. "What happened to Ishiri?" She took a better look around to see the area had still burning trees and gashes that burned on the ground. "What the hell happened?"

"It is of no concern. Ishiri got knocked out, summon a unit for him," Luna said as she bent down and licked the fox on the head. "I need you to take a look at Naruto."

"The summoner? What happened to him?" she asked before trotting over to the boy. Her eyes widened as she saw the condition the boy was in. "Those are bad burn. It looks like there are gashes across his body. Seem to be made from chakra. Were the two in a spar?"

"That is above your head."

"Like hell it is," Uki shouted. "He is my patient and if I am to do anything I need to know what the hell happened."

"He released an immense amount of chakra. Too much for his body," Luna muttered. "Leave it at that." She growled to accent her point.

"Hai Luna-sama," Uki stated. She hit her tail on the ground and summoned ten different foxes of various colors. In the lead was a vixen around the size of Ishiri. She was a lighter green and had white wear Uki had black. The big difference was that she had a white heart on her chest where Uki had a black cross.

The vixen took a look around before shrieking. "Ishiri-kun," she yelled as she dashed over to him. "Ishiri-kun wake up." She gently nudged the fox to get no response.

"Satsuri that is enough," Uki commanded. "He has been knocked out. Take your unit and attend to him. The rest of you are with me." The foxes nodded before dashing off to their assigned spots.

"Uki-san, when those two are stabilized get them into the tree and get them comfy. As quickly as you can would be best," Luna stated before making her way to the library. "Ahri, Bruno, and Suzuki with me."

"Hai," responded the foxes.

Luna sighed as she stumbled into the library exhausted. She was followed by the three elders who had witnessed the incident. They made their way to their seats in the middle of the library before turning on a light above them to illuminate the room. The elders were silent before Suzuki finally spoke up.

"It seems that the Kitsune Clan has come full circle and find ourselves with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki."

"A different circumstance this time," Bruno said quietly. He looked over to his friend and frowned. He couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling at the moment. "Is it possible . . . I mean he could be her . . ."

"It is of no importance," Luna responded deadpanned.

"But you missed her so much when sh-" Ahri was cut off by a growl from the vixen.

"That is enough," Luna barked. She did not want to talk about this right now. "We have more pressing issues at the moment. We pushed Naruto-chan too hard. We could have really done damage to him. The Kyuubi's chakra is nothing to take lightly."

"How will we go about him being our summoner?" Ahri questioned.

"Like we always do. We treat him like all his predecessors before him," Luna said. She now knew why he had been shunned from his village. Jinchurikis were not a popular group. "He needs us now more than ever. If he finds out what happened and who is sealed in him then he will need a family. He will need his clan. He needs us."

"Should we tell him? He deserves to know," Ahri pointed out.

"I agree. The boy should know why he has been ostracized by the people of his village," Bruno announced.

"Agreed." Suzuki nodded.

"No that is the last thing we will do." Luna ignored the cries of disagreement that came from the group. "If he finds out about why he has been treated the way he has, without an explanation from his village, then he will likely flee, becoming a missing nin. If that happens then he can have no peaceful life. He will find no love, only hardship as they hunt for their lost Jinchuriki. They would rather kill him than let him slip into the hands of the other villages. No, he needs to be told by someone from the village, someone who can explain to him what happened and why."

Bruno scoffed at the suggestion. "The boy has been kept in the dark. His entire life he has been lied to, treated worse than trash. He deserves happiness but he will not find it in that Kami-forsakened village. They don't deserve someone of his talent."

"Or his pure heart," Ahri finished where Bruno left off. "He deserves love, I agree that he may not find it there, but he can't leave. Luna-sama is right, he can't become a missing nin. Maybe he will find a kunoichi from another village during a mission or something but he can't become a missing nin. There is no happiness in that life."

"Then we will be there for him. Whenever he is sad, we will be there. Ishiri has done a good job, their bond is strong, but he still needs a family," Luna explained. "Any arguments?"

"No," was heard from the collective group.

As the group answered, they heard a noise coming from the door. They turn to see a stretcher being carried by two foxes, one on either side, bring Ishiri into the room, quickly followed by Naruto's own stretcher. The boys were taken past the elders, who looked on with sad expressions, and placed onto the ground gently.

"Luna-sama, they are both in stable condition." Luna turned to see Uki standing alert. "Naruto is worse off. He will need to rest up for at least a week. Ishiri on the other hand should be up and walking in two or three days."

Luna looked over to Naruto who was bandaged up and sleeping. Her eyes danced over to Ishiri. Satsuri was curled up next to him, a concerned looked plastered on her face. Luna sighed before turning back to the green vixen.

"Well done Uki. As long as someone is here to check up on them then you are dismissed for tonight."

With a nod Uki trotted over to her underlings and dismissed them, choosing to stay. After a bit Uki reluctantly let Satsuri stay and attend to Ishiri's wounds.

"We will have the Yin-Yang Brothers set up a perimeter and keep away any unwanted visitors," Luna stated. "We will set up a genjutsu so we can look after Naruto. I am sure that spike in chakra would have drawn red flags. Patrols have probably been sent out to look for him."

"What in the world happened?" The elders turned to see Yasu walking up from a corner of the room with a scroll held by his tail.

"If you had been outside, and not catching up on some reading, then you would have seen Naruto release the Kyuubi's chakra," Bruno spat at the small orange fox.

"Our summoner is a Jinchuriki?" Yasu questioned with a surprised look in his eyes. "This won't change anything will it? I was rather excited to teach the boy myself."

"We will discuss that later Yasu," Luna said with a slightly angry look in her eyes. "First you will tell us where you were while we trained our summoner."

"Ah yes quite right," Yasu said as he set the scroll down in front of him. "I think I may have found a way around that little jutsu that is bothering Naruto for some time."

"We have been over this Yasu. We can't cheat for the boy," Bruno said exacerbated.

"Well what if he learned a different clone jutsu?" Yasu offered. "As long as he learns another clone jutsu then that should pass him. Wouldn't it?"

"But we can't simply give him an elemental clone," Ahri pointed out. "If he comes into the test with a Water Clone or Mud Clone then they will ask questions like how he got it. He wouldn't be able to explain his new jutsu without telling them about us. Isn't that what we have tried to avoid?"

"Yes it is, but what if we gave him a second clone technique that was developed in Konoha?" Yasu proposed.

"Go on," Luna said, very intrigued by this new turn of events.

"Well it seems Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage, was quite an ingenious fellow," Yasu said as he spread the scroll out. "Have you ever heard of the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

•••••

Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep in ages. He had finished paper work early, gotten through council meetings without a hitch and had a nice dinner with his family. It had been a perfect night made only more so by quickly drifting off to sleep. His dreams were short lived when he felt a spike of menacing chakra. A feeling he could never forget in all his life.

He shot up from his bed and immediately grabbed the nearest kunai. As quickly as the spike of chakra came, it just as quickly vanished, but there was still a faint signal. Almost immediately there was an ANBU member in the room.

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU could get out no further words before Hiruzen was up and dressed.

"Yes Boar, I felt it too," he quickly made his way out the door and to his office. "Have Alpha, Beta and Delta squads check the forests. Send Omega and Gamma to check for any detections in the barrier that could have been missed. All other ANBU are to secure the village. Go."

Boar nodded before vanishing. This is not how he wanted to start his day. He looked up at the crescent moon above, an ache in his aged heart appearing. _Kami forgive me if I have missed my chance to tell him the truth. Minato, Kushina, watch over the boy._

•••••

Hiruzen sat at his desk a few hours later expecting his ANBU to return with the boy in tow. To his surprise, and dread, Cat showed up by herself. No Naruto and no other ANBU members. He feared the worst.

"Report Cat," Hiruzen said calmly.

"He hasn't been found sir," Cat said hesitantly.

Hiruzen grimaced before responding. "Any traces or leads found? Any detections in the barrier?"

"That is the thing sir. All traces of the Kyuubi's chakra have vanished." Cat gulped internally has she saw the disapproving look of her superior. She didn't blame him. They were supposed to be the best and they had come up empty. "The signature vanished in a clearing but there was neither an entry or exist point from the spot of the signature. The barrier surrounding the village is solid, no breaches were recorded and all patrols have come back negative for intruders."

"Has the village been secured Cat?" Hiruzen hoped for at least some good news from the ANBU member.

"Hai Hokage-sama," Cat responded quickly. "All ANBU, not currently looking for Uzumaki Naruto, are currently holding their positions at important junctions and entry points of the village."

"Have you checked the Yondaime's head?"

"Sir?" Cat couldn't understand where the question came from.

"The Yondaime's head. Have you checked it?" Hiruzen repeated the question with a far off look in his eyes.

"Sir, I believe Alpha team was charged with that area. They reported nothing." Cat paused before thinking about the specific nature of the question. "Hokage-sama, if I may, why would you have us check specifically the Yondaime's head?"

"It is Naruto-kun's favorite place when he is sad," Hiruzen answered simply. _What an appropriate, and ironic, place for him._

•••••

Naruto's eyes fluttered open only to close immediately. His eyes were still sensitive. He tried to move only to feel a searing pain across his body. The sensation quickly dissipated as a wave of relief washed over him.

 **"Easy kit,"** the harsh voice said from seemingly no where, **"you're body is still recovering."**

 _What the hell happened?_ Naruto could feel a massive headache treating his temple like a drum. He could feel a hint of nausea come over him before a second wave of relief washed over him.

 **"You couldn't handle my gift,"** the gift said with a chuckle. **"Still too weak little human, but I suppose that is to be expected from a kit of your young age."**

Naruto could hear the smirk the owner of the voice had on, as it seemed to reverberate through him. _What gift was that? One second I am exhausted and the next I am on fire._

 **"I gave you chakra. Very powerful chakra,"** the voice said nonchalantly. **"You are still too young to receive the full dose. We will work on it."**

 _We?_

 **"Yes. I gave you the chakra so you could learn that damnable jutsu."**

 _Why would you help me?_ Naruto thought as he began to feel the pain fade away and his body returned to normal.

 **"Because there are people who will take advantage of you if you don't graduate. They will use your failure to either insure you never reach your full potential or that you become a pawn, easily moved and thrown away as they please,"** the voice said with venom coursing through his tone.

 _How do you now?_ Naruto tried to sit up but his muscles still ached a bit. He decided to sit back down and lay there until he could sit up.

 **"That is human nature. Specifically for one of your stature and situation."**

 _My situation? Like the Kitsune Contract?_ Naruto narrowed his eyes at the thought. Why would people use him because of the contract?

 **"As important as the contract is, there is more urgent matters,"** the voice said as he seemed to fade. **"But that is a conversation for another day. Hopefully next time we talk it will be** ** _face to face._** "

Naruto shivered at the sound of the voice. Before he could question what he meant, he felt the voice vanish. Naruto went to try and sit up. He felt relieved when he no longer hurt, the searing pain in his body vanished and the small aches were nothing new to him after training with Bruno and the Yin Yang Brothers.

Naruto sat up and began to look around. He rubbed his shoulder to loosen it up before his eyes caught the sleeping form of Ishiri bandaged up and lying on a makeshift bed.

"Ishiri," Naruto said before grunting and grabbing his arm. "Dammit. Ishiri wake up. What happened?" He got no movement from his partner. His eyes grew sad before seeing slight movement on the other side of the orange fox.

With a yawn, a young, green vixen stretched and stood up. The fox smacked her lips together before peering over to Naruto with sleepy eyes. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw the blond boy was awake.

"You shouldn't be awake," she said with a sweet voice that sounded like birds softly chirping. "Uki-sama said you'd be out cold for a week."

"A week?!" Satsuri jumped at the excited boy. She looked on with slight curiosity at the struggling Naruto. She shook her head before putting a paw on the boy's chest and gently easing him back onto the bed. "But I have to get up and go to my final exam. If I miss it I will fail then be stuck at the academy for another year."

"You have only been out for two days Naruto-sama," she said sweetly. "It is late at night on Sunday, your exam isn't until Friday."

"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked puzzled by the light green fox in front of him.

"Oh uh yeah I am sorry," Satsuri said with a slight bow. "My name is Satsuri of the medical unit of the Kitsune. It is a pleasure to meet you summoner. It is an honor."

"That didn't answer anything . . . Satsuri?" Satsuri nodded her head with a slight smile on her face at the recognition. "How do you know my name? What happened to Ishiri?"

"Oh all the Kitsune have heard about you Naruto-sama," she said happily. "You are the talk of the den. They say you have true potential. It is seen as the highest honor to be summoned by you, even more if you actually know our names." Satsuri saw that Naruto had stopped paying attention to her and followed his vision to the figure of Ishiri. "I see you're worried about Ishiri-kun." She smiled sadly when she saw sadness in Naruto's eyes as he nodded. "He was knocked out Friday night by whatever happened. He is stable and should be waking up within in the next day."

Naruto felt a pang of guilt at the knowledge he had hurt is friend but it was made slightly better by the knowledge he'd be ok. "What about Luna-sama and the rest of the elders?" If he had done that to Ishiri then he couldn't imagine how the rest of them looked.

A look of realization crossed the vixen's eyes. "Oh dear I forgot," she cried out. "They told me to wake them if either of you were to wake up. They won't be happy about this."

Naruto looked on with curiosity as the young fox pranced behind one of the chairs before a grunt and yip was heard. This was quickly followed by the sounds of falling bodies, crashes and obscenities. Shortly afterwards the elders stumbled into view of the blond haired boy. No one ever said the foxes were morning creatures.

Luna's drowsy disposition quickly changed when she saw Naruto was awake. "Naruto-chan! You're awake?" The other elders quickly woke up as well. They looked at the boy with awe.

Ahri tentatively walked up to him and took sniff before sitting on her hunches with a beaming smile on her face. "Well good morning Naruto-chan. How are you?" Her voice was sing song-esque.

Naruto laughed as he put his head behind his head. "I'm alright Ahri-sensei. A little sore."

"We should get Uki-san in here to run her own examination," Yasu pointed out. "We need to know how he actually is, not just how he feels."

Naruto looked on as a darker green fox appeared in smoke. She looked over him with a skeptical eye. Before Naruto could speak her tail was brushing him, glowing the entire time. The tail stopped after a few passes over the boy.

Uki stepped back and shook her head in astonishment. "He is perfectly fine. His muscles are sore but no more than he usually would be after a tough workout." She paused and thought about something before continuing. "I would suggest he rest for a few days. His tenketsu and chakra pathways are very strained. That is to be expected with a burst of chakra like the burns indicated he had."

Naruto was about to ask a question but was interrupted by a groan. He looked over to see Ishiri begin to move. Satsuri yelped as she rushed over to his side. She had her tail under his head to help him up to a position where he was seated up.

Naruto pushed himself back onto his feet and staggered over to his friend, Luna by his side as he walked to his partner. Naruto fell back onto his butt as he scratched him behind the ear. "I'm sorry Ishiri. This is all my fault."

Ishiri looked at him and shook his head. "I was just checking up on my partner. So I got hurt because I wanted to see if my friend was ok. It will always be worth it. You're my partner and I wouldn't change it for the world."

Naruto looked down at his friend with a tear in his eye. Ishiri had truly become his best friend. He promised himself that Ishiri wouldn't be hurt like that again. He would protect his partner and the rest of the Kitsune Clan. They were his family.

"Uki-san has said that you can continue your training again on Wednesday Naruto-chan," Luna said as she looked at the two companions. "That goes for you too Ishiri. You two will stay here and recover. You will be guarded around the clock with the Yin Yang Brothers and a medical unit. Satsuri-san has requested to be here the entire time." The boys looked over at the nervously smiling vixen. "Once you two are ready will we continue your preparations for the academy exam."

"But Luna-sama what about classes?" Naruto asked.

"Haven't you done your written test already?" Naruto simply nodded at the question. "Then if I am not mistaken the rest of this week is just preparations for the field test, something you can do here while you are recovering."

"Yeah we are finally going to get that clone jutsu down." Ishiri nudged his partner with a smile on his face. "We've got this."

"You bet we do dattebayo," Naruto said, giving Ishiri a nudge of his own.

"Oh you won't be learning that jutsu Naruto." The boys looked up to the smallest of the elders.

"What do you mean Yasu-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Shadow Clone Jutsu my boy?"

•••••

The academy was buzzing with excitement. Today was the final days of the examinations. Everything was on the line for the students. The test had consisted of a written exam the previous week along with tests like kunai and shuriken throwing. Today was the biggest day though. To pass they would have to show they had mastered the three academy jutsus.

Students were either pacing with nerves, jumping with joy with a shiny new hitai-ate while others lamented in failure, hoping that next year they could pass. It would be their last chance.

"Wahoo! Hinata check this out!" Hinata turned to see an excited Inuzuka Kiba with a new hitai-ate shinnying proudly on his forehead. Akamaru was barking happily on his head. "Maybe we are gonna be teammates. Wouldn't that be awesome? By the way your hitai-ate looks really cool."

"Ah thank you Kiba-kun," Hinata said have distracted. Her eyes were wandering the academy grounds looking for a flash of yellow. She grew excited before frowning. It was Yamanaka Ino who was swooning over Sasuke as Sakura was off taking her test.

As the time went on, she began to worry even more. Each day that week she would shown up at the academy even though she didn't need to. She made the excuse she was practicing but in truth she wanted to hang out with Naruto. She was hoping to use training as an excuse but was disappointed when he never showed up, leaving her with Kiba.

She heard Naruto's name called and felt her heart clench. He still hadn't shown up. _Where is he? If he doesn't graduate then we can't be on the same team._ As she had begun to give up hope, she heard a voice ring through the trees.

"I'm here Iruka-sensei!"

She turned and slightly gasped. Naruto came bounding into the training grounds with a new outfit she had never seen before. Naruto was wearing black shinobi sandals which were taped at the ankles. He wore black pants with a black, long sleeve, tight undershirt. On top of that he wore a burnt orange shirt that had a loose turtleneck style neck with a zipper. On the back was a black whirlpool. The shirt hung a little loose on him but Hinata thought he looked great.

Hinata blushed as Naruto ran past her. She cursed herself for being unable to talk to him again. She stayed there, looking at the door to the academy, with her hands clasped in front of her. She wanted Kami to be on her side for once.

Iruka sighed in relief when she saw Naruto appear in front of him. "Good of you to join us Naruto," Iruka chided the blond boy. "Where have you been?"

Naruto laughed as he put a hand behind is head. "Sorry Iruka-sensei. I have been training like crazy for this test. I am gonna pass dattebayo!"

"Well then let's get to it then," Iruka said with smile. He escorted the whiskered boy to their classroom where Mizuki was sitting behind a table looking over various papers and test results.

"Ah Naruto, you finally show up," Mizuki said as he eyed the boy. He had been nervous when Naruto hadn't shown up the past week. He needed him to be there for his test for his plan to work. He was so close. He could already imagine the jutsu he would learn from the Scroll of Seals.

"Yeah sorry about that Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said with an apologetic smile.

"Enough Naruto," Iruka said with a suddenly serious face. "You are our last candidate for graduation. You will need to show you have mastered the three jutsus."

Naruto nodded with a smile that beamed from ear to ear. He went on to show the first two needed jutsus with easy; they had become second nature to him.

He took a deep breath before bringing two fingers up from each hand into a cross in front of him. "Shadow Clone Jutsu," he yelled before the entire room was filled with smoke. It quickly dissipated to show ten clones, plus the original, standing in front of the proctors.

"I told you I could do it Iruka-sensei," the group of blonds said all at once.

Both Chunins had their jaws on the floor. Iruka shook off the astonishment first. He shook his head and looked at the boy with surprise. "Naruto, where did you learn this jutsu?"

•••••

"This time try imagining solid clones Naruto," Yasu said with his muzzle in the scroll. "It says here to mold your chakra into clones by imagining solid copies of yourself while putting in large amounts of chakra into the images."

"This should be easier for you Naruto-chan," Ahri pointed out. "With the last technique you were having to use too little chakra. You need a lot for this one."

"That is easier said than done," Naruto said through gasps. He was still sore from the incident even though it was Thursday. His chakra network was still strained so they had decided that for every hour he was training he would take two off. "I'm trying over here."

"One more time Naruto," Ishiri encouraged from his side. "You almost had it last time. Maybe picture more clones this time instead of one."

"Ok ok Ishiri," Naruto said with a wave. "I'll try it." He took a breath before crossing his fingers and yelling at the top of his lungs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The clearing was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Naruto was looking at multiple copies of himself. "Dattebayo! I did it! Graduation her I come!"

Ishiri snuck up to one of the clones that were enthusiastically celebrating with another one. He took a sniff to see if they smelled the same. Seeing that the clone had no smell he decided to test to see if they were as solid as the scroll said they would be. He took his tail, which was beginning to burn with a basic fire jutsu for the foxes. He brought up his tail back before swinging it at the clone whose eyes widened at the attack. The clone popped into a puff of smoke.

"Hey Ishiri! What is the big idea?" Ishiri took a look toward the original who seemed to be mad. "I just made that clone! Why did you destroy it?"

"How do you know I did it?" Ishiri asked confused. He was sure the original had his back turned to him.

"Because I saw you attacking me, well not me, but the clone and then suddenly 'poof' I was gone. Or was it the clone?" Naruto was all of the sudden very confused. How did he know Ishiri did it?

"Yasu," Luna said with a snarl in her voice. "What is going on?"

"Ah well yes that is very peculiar," Yasu said as he rolled the scroll further down. "Um yes here it is. It seems that Senju Tobirama didn't create this jutsu just for show. It seems that he created it during the time before the villages were established as a way to preform reconnaissance. It seems the clones are able to pass their memories and experiences over to the original as well as preform jutsus."

The rest of the group looked stunned at the new development. The jutsu was really a one-of-a-kind jutsu. Their astonishment was quickly undone by a yelp.

"What the hell," Bruno said as he looked behind him to see a Naruto clone holding his tale. "Why you little gaki." Bruno pulled his tail from his clone's hands before ramming him with a headbutt. The clone popped out of existence. "Naruto, why the hell did you have the clone do that?"

Naruto paled as he saw the large fox walk menacingly his way. He put his hands in front of him, waving frantically. "It wasn't me I swear. I promise."

"YASU!" Bruno barked.

"Yes it seems there is a warning here," Yasu pointed out with a sheepish look on his face.

"And that is?" Luna asked more calmly than Bruno.

"It says here that if a clone isn't given a strict commands then it is possible that it will act as if it had a mind of its own," Yasu looked up from the scroll. "Seems a rather mild warning does isn't?"

"Tell that to my tail," Bruno growled.

"It also says that it is a forbidden jutsu of Konoha," Yasu said nonchalantly, looking back through the scroll.

"YASU!" the group yelled at him in unison.

"How is Naruto-chan going to explain to his instructors that an academy student suddenly learns a forbidden jutsu when he can't even figure out the watered down version?" Ahri ranted.

"Yes it seems you over looked that little part my old friend," Suzuki pointed out.

"Well this time I didn't over look anything," Yasu said with a smirk on his face. "It says here that elite Jonin and ANBU learn this technique. If Naruto were to say that he saw an ANBU practicing this technique then I am sure that it will be believed by whoever is proctoring his test."

Luna looked skeptical but they really had no choice but to trust the smaller fox. "Well it seems we have no other choice. It will have to be made believable. The Yin Yang Brothers will help Naruto-chan with the lie."

•••••

"Well I was training really hard to get the Clone Jutsu right," Naruto began the tale. "I was in a training ground outside of Konoha when I heard a noise. I went to see what it was to see two ANBU sparring and this was a jutsu that was often used. I watched and since the hand sign was so simple I was able to copy it."

Mizuki was writhing in disbelief. _How did he copy a forbidden jutus? That is impossible, I have to say something before this can continue._ Mizuki cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the other two in the room. "That is fine and dandy Naruto, but that is not the Clone Jutsu taught by the academy. I am sorry to tell you that you have failed your test."

Naruto looked destroyed. He looked to Iruka who had a smile plastered on your face. "That is not the case Mizuki." The other two looked at Iruka with confusion. "The Clone Jutsu is actually based off of Senju Tobirama's Shadow Clone Jutsu. So Naruto learning the more advanced version, while unique and unprecedented, still qualifies as a passing grade on that jutsu."

Iruka handed Mizuki the test and pointed to the area covering ninjutsu and to what was acceptable by the academy. Mizuki had to bite his tongue to contain a yell of disbelief. Naruto had actually passed.

Mizuki was still staring at the test in disbelief while Iruka went to a box and stood in front of Naruto. "Naruto I am proud to say that you have graduated," he said as he presented his student his new hitai-ate. "Congratulations."

Iruka laughed as Naruto bowed to his sensei before snatching the headband and quickly throwing it on. He was nearly jumping for joy. Naruto took off toward the door. Iruka walked along as Naruto ran into the courtyard to an awaiting Hinata.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted. She was the first one he saw and was actually the only other person still hanging around. "Check this out! I actually passed." He pointed enthusiastically to his hitai-ate.

"Con-congratulations Narut-kun," Hinata said with a small smile on her face and pink blush brushed on her cheeks. "I-I knew you could it."

"Thanks Hinata," Naruto said before noticing Hinata had her own hitai-ate. "Hey and you passed too! Your hitai-ate looks awesome like that. Maybe we will be on the same team."

Hinata unconsciously touched her hitai-ate that was tied around her neck. _He actually likes it? And he wants to be on the same team?!_ Hinata could feel her blush turn from pink to a deep red. "I-I would li-like that too Naruto-kun."

"Hey I got a good idea Hinata. How about we go to Ichiraku's to celebrate?" he asked enthusiastically.

Hinata felt her heart beating against her ribcage. _He wants to get food together? Li-like a date?_ She opened her mouth to speak only for her whole world to go black as she passed out.

Naruto saw her fall back but couldn't catch her in time. "Hinata?" He peered at her on the ground only to here a faint chuckle from Iruka.

"It'll be alright Naruto," he said as he picked the girl up. "I'll get a kunoichi to take her back to the Hyuga compound. She'll wake up soon. I would be more than happy to go with you though Naruto." He smiled as he saw the blond boy nod enthusiastically. "I need to go make a quick errand but I will meet you there Naruto. And I'm buying."

"Alright see you there Iruka-sensei dattebayo," Naruto shouted before sprinting off to his favorite food stand.

•••••

Iruka walked through the halls of the Hokage's tower. He walked past the secretary without a pause. He opened the door to a haze of smoke. Sitting behind his desk, reading over reports, was Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hiruzen looked up to see Iruka standing in the opening. Hiruzen put the reports down and pulled out his pipe. "Ah Iruka," he began with an air of wisdom. "The examinations must be over. Tell me was Uzumaki Naruto there?"

"Hai Hokage-sama. Made it just in time," Iruka said with a smile.

"By the way you are smiling I assume that he passed." When Hiruzen got a nod of affirmation, he took a breath. "Good. He had me worried for a bit. It will be interesting to see on what team we can place him. Hatake Kakashi has specifically requested him but the Civilian Council wishes him to head the team with Uchiha Sasuke. I suppose a tracking team with those two and Hyuga Hinata would be a good fit but then there is Yuhi Kurenai who specifically asked for the Hyuga to be under her. A fine dance this will turn out to be." Hiruzen chuckled before taking another puff from his pipe.

"Um Hokage-sama that is one of the reasons that I came to you today," Iruka spoke up.

"Oh and what would that be Iruka-kun?"

"Well sir there were twenty-eight graduates." Iruka saw a look of concern cross the Hokage's features before he took another draw and exhaling a plume of smoke.

"That does pose a very interesting problem." Iruka took out a scroll from his desk and looked through it. After a bit he rolled it back up and set it aside. "Tell me, Iruka, what would you do? You know these students the best."

"Well that is the thing sir, this is a tricky situation," Iruka pointed out. "On one side the number means that someone will have to wait a year unless there is an opening on an older team but that is rarely done. Which leaves-"

"An apprenticeship," Hiruzen finished for the Chunin. "Yes a very delicate situation. Any candidates that could possibly be viable for such a thing?"

"Just two," Iruka said slowly. "Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmmm interesting choices," Hiruzen pondered the idea. "Sasuke would be a good apprentice to Kakashi for the Sharingan and Naruto to someone from the ANBU for his tracking skills. Tell me, Iruka, which one needs a team the most?"

"Well they both do for similar reasons. Sasuke is a very brooding individual, a team may be able to heal some wounds that have built up after the events with Itachi." Iruka thought about the next choice before carrying on. "Naruto doesn't have many friends, maybe a few that will hang out with him every now and then, but not a true friend his age. A team will be able to provide him a scenario where he can learn and develop his relationship and personal skills that an apprenticeship will be unable to provide."

"Unless he were to be put into a place where he would be with a larger group. An ANBU squad or the like may do that," Hiruzen pointed. "But even then it is unlikely he will branch out from there. Yet there is more to it than that."

"How so Hokage-sama?"

"The Civilian Council is determined to have some sort of pull on the young Uchiha." Before Iruka could ask his question, the Hokage voiced his own inquiry. "Tell me what you know about Haruno Sakura."

"She is below average on pretty much all physical activities varying from taijutsu to kunai throwing. She is very bright though, excelling in all theoretical work. She has excellent chakra control which shows promise in either genjutsu or medical jutus," Iruka explained. "Why do you ask Hokage-sama?"

"Because Sakura's mother is on the Civilian Council and has specifically requested for her daughter to be put on a team with Sasuke."

"What type of team were you thinking about Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked.

"A genjutsu specialized team." Hiruzen raised his hand to stop the argument from Iruka. "Yes I know that Kurenai would be the best fit for the group but it is necessary for Sasuke to receive training for his Sharingan, which promises a lot in the field of genjutsu, and the only man for that job is Kakashi. Sadly he is a ninjutsu expert but I will make it a point to cross train teams so their pupils are not hearing a single voice for the next few years of their lives."

"Well there is another male student that could possibly fit that team composition," Iruka said as he narrowed his eyes, thinking through his options.

"Good," Hiruzen said as pulled another puff from his pipe while leaning back in his chair. "That just leaves young Naruto-kun."

"What were you thinking Hokage-sama?"

"I have an ideal sensei for the boy, but he is nowhere to be found," Hiruzen said, shaking the scroll he had previously been reading. "It's a shame really. He would have enjoyed the challenge."

"May I suggest something sir?"

Hiruzen looked at his subordinate with extra curiosity. Iruka was always polite to him, and everyone, but he was never hesitant. This was very interesting. "Yes Iruka?"

"I think I have the perfect sensei for Naruto . . ."

•••••

A figured jumped through the shadows of street corners and tree lines, expertly escaping the light of the full moon above and the street lamps that bathed the area. The figure pressed its body to the wall as a patrol crossed its bath. The patrol, walking mere inches away from its position, saw nothing.

Kneeling next to a door that would lead into the record department of the village, the figure pulled out small tools. After silently jiggling and working the locks, a faint click was heard. A silent fist pump was the figure's only celebration.

The door opened and the figure stepped inside to a faint light of the hallway. The figure stepped into the light to reveal purple hair done up in a small ponytail that stuck up into the air. This messy hairstyle was accompanied by a light brown trench coat that went well with her chocolate colored eyes. Underneath the trench coat she wore a fishnets that covered her upper body and thighs with a tan skirt. She wore the sandals and shin guards of the ANBU. To finish off her outfit is a snake fang pendant around her neck and a Konoha hitai-ate on her forehead.

She walked down the sides of the hall, ducking to avoid any windows, before coming to her target. Again she took out her tools and unlocked the door of interest. Inside the door was a bland room. Along the four walls were filing cabinets that were marked with various names of hidden villages on the continent and some beyond. There was a single desk with a chair and lamp in the middle. The room was in pitch blackness as she closed the door but was quickly illuminated by a small flashlight she carried.

Quickly making her way to Konaha's cabinet, she again fiddled with the lock. This time she made sure to check for booby traps. She smirked as she disabled the various safety measures. Satisfied that she had successfully unlocked the cabinet she began her search.

 _They have to have more files of that bastard than they gave the Hokage._ She thought as she went through the files. _These bastards in Kagi no Kuni and Jomae no Sato always keep extremely sensitive information to use as extra bartering tools._

She continued her search before coming across something. With a victorious smirk she took the file from the cabinet and began to look at the papers it held. _Now this is what I am talking about. Orochimaru will finally pay for his crimes._

A small, but bright, light quickly diverted her victorious thoughts. She turned and peered into the cabinet to see an explosive tag that was hidden under the folder was burning.

"Shit . . ."


	7. A Reluctant Sensei

**Hey guys! I am back with another, quick update. This weekend has been fairly dull and this chapter was rather short.**

 **Ok so there was one kind of complaint about Naruto being taught the Shadow Clone Jutsu by the foxes. The idea of the foxes having this large library of jutsus and techniques is that they have taken jutsus from other ninja that they have memorized and written them down for later generations of summoners. They WILL NOT be teaching Naruto the Rasengan and I do want Jiraiya to take a major role in Naruto's development. I understand the fear the reviewer had because it does seem like the Kitsune Library is a cop-out, but it will be used as more of resource for Naruto later on. I have a plan. And Hinata will become more bold in the coming chapters.**

 **Anyways with that said please, please, please review with your likes, dislikes, suggestions on how I can improve my writing, especially the interactions of the characters and how they would actually act according to how Kishimoto wrote them. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 7**

In the seediest parts of Konoha, away from the market and clan compounds, sat a building on its last legs. The Rusty Kunai was a dump. Rotten floors and walls held a run down bar. Old chairs circled warped tables with burn and spill marks littering the surfaces. The smell of alcohol and puke always seemed to cover the building. Yet, with all its blemishes and faults, the run down bar was the most popular spot in Konoha.

This was due mostly to the ranks of shinobi that were regulars at the old public house. The ninja of Konoha flocked to the Rusty Kunai because of their known charitable donations and jobs for retired or injured shinobis as they began the transition from duty to civilian life. It was a common sight to see the bar packed with ninja and those that could not get in were hanging outside of the establishment.

It was here that Mitarashi Anko found herself drowning another ill-fated attempt at righting wrongs from her past. She sat alone at the bar. Her usual trench coat was littered with holes and burn marks ate away at the hemming of the fabric. She was covered with soot, her hair was more of a mess than usual.

She was a regular at the establishment. Everyone who had ever seen her there knew one thing: you were to never mess with her when she drank unless you were a bartender. After a failed mission, or a frustrating day, she would come down to the Rusty Kunai and drink her worries away. If Anko was in the mood to be around people she would be found at her favorite dango shop, but at the Rusty Kunai she just wanted to be alone.

She turned to her right and raised an eyebrow at an ANBU member who was walking into the bar. ANBU were an unusual sight in the hotspot. Her eyes followed the man. She watched in annoyance when he came to a stop beside her.

"Mitarashi Anko you have a notice from the Hokage to attend a meeting tomorrow to discuss a new assignment," the ANBU said, handing the disgruntled Tokubetsu Jonin a scroll.

"If it is another suspension then you can save it," she spat back. She returned her attention back to her sake. She took another sip and looked to her side to see the scroll lying there, its messenger nowhere in sight.

 _Great, I couldn't even keep this mistake from the old man for more than a day._ Her thoughts turned grim as she thought about the possible punishment the aged leader would have for her. This meeting might be the end of her career.

•••••

Anko stood in line with a confused look on her face. In line were many well known Jonin throughout the village, ranging from Choza Akimichi to Sarutobi Asuma. Even her newly promoted friend, Yuhi Kurenai, was at the meeting. She felt out of place in the room. She was the lowest ranking individual, even below the three fossils that made up the Hokage's personal advisors. Why was she here?

She tentatively took a look at the clock that was to her right. The meeting was suppose to have started an hour ago yet they had just stood there, staring at the four elders in front of them. Their leader had his hands bridged in front of himself as he leaned forward and examined the high ranking shinobi in front of him.

She sighed a bit in relief. She wasn't being demoted if her company she was currently keeping was any indication. There was a clan head, a brother to another clan head and even the Hokage's own son, a prominent ninja from his time in the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

"Ah nice of you to finally join us."

Anko turned to a window behind the Hokage as it began to open to reveal Hatake Kakashi. He was holding an old, beat up orange book that made Anko's blood boil over.

"Yo," he said nonchalantly. "Sorry I was late. There was this accident involving a food cart and a passing merchant caravan. Being the good Samaritan I am I had to stop and help."

"I hope that in this next assignment you will change this little habit of yours Kakashi," Hiruzen said with a look of disappointment held for the elite Jonin. He had been a decorated ANBU member yet couldn't keep track of time if his life depended on it.

 _I doubt it._ Anko thought as she eyed his precious copy of whatever book in the Icha Icha Series he was reading. _Sick pervert would need to take his nose out of those disgusting books for that to happen. Everyone knows that isn't going to happen._

Her thoughts ended as Hiruzen began to talk. "Thank you all for coming to this meeting, especially those of you that decided to be on time." Kakashi seemed to fake hurt at the slight, but Hiruzen continued. "As this meeting will help in shaping the future of Konoha it is vital that it goes smoothly."

Anko rose an eyebrow at the statement. What mission could this seemingly random group of ninja's be put through?

"As you know, this academy year has just ended leaving us with a large group of very talented and promising shinobi." Anko's jaw dropped at the statement. There was no way she was hearing this right. "You each have been chosen to take up position of Jonin Sensei to a group of academy graduates. For some of you, like Akimichi Choza, this will be your second team. For those of you that are new to this assignment, know that you are being entrusted with a very important gift. You have the chance to shape the future of this village by the instruction that you will give these fine young minds. Now we will begin with the team placement."

Anko stayed frozen in place, hoping that there had been some sort of mistake. She held her breath with each passing name. She would rather be demoted than made a Jonin Sensei. She didn't like kids, it was bad enough she was going to be proctoring the up coming Chunin Exams. She didn't want to babysit some brats too.

". . . Team Seven will be headed by Hatake Kakashi. This will be a genjutsu specialized team consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Sai, no surname," Hiruzen said. He was about to continue when he was interrupted by a raised hand. "Yes Kakashi?"

"Hokage-sama there must be a mistake," the silver haired Jonin began. "I requested Uzumaki Naruto to be on my team and I am a ninjutsu specialist, not a genjutsu specialist. Kurenai is much more suited to this type of team."

"Yes that may be the case but you are here to teach Uchiha Sasuke in the way of the Sharingan," Sarutobi answered back. "Kurenai will head the tracking unit, Team Eight, containing Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba."

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Kurenai said. She bowed slightly to the older shinobi with a smile on her face.

"Hokage-sama, if I may," Kakashi began before being cut off.

"Your request was given consideration Hatake," Hiruzen said with authority. "We decided to take another route for the development of Uzumaki Naruto that, we feel, will be most beneficial to all parties involved. As we are on the subject we might as well continue on. Uzumaki Naruto will be placed under the apprenticeship of Mitarashi Anko."

"What?!" Anko cried out from her position in line. "You have to be joking Hokage-sama."

"I do not joke about such important matters Mitarashi-san." Hiruzen looked at his subordinate with a withering gaze that apparently went unnoticed by the panicking Tokubetsu.

"But I am only a specialist with the T&I Division," she sputtered out. "There is no way I am a good fit to be training this gaki."

"Actually you should take a look at his reports," Hiruzen said as he took Naruto's folder out of a drawer in his desk. He had foreseen this little break out in the meeting, it always happened one year or another. He decided to take the initiative and came prepared this year. "Young Naruto has shown great promise in the field of tracking and stealth, something that you are quite proficient at Anko."

"The gaki could learn under Kakashi if the cyclops wants him to so bad," she again sputtered in disbelief.

"And here I thought you would want to teach the student who broke your record by thirty minutes."

"Impossible!" Hiruzen smirked as the file was ripped from his hands by a disbelieving Anko. Her eyes widened, along with the single seen eye of Kakashi who was looking over her shoulder. "This still doesn't mean I am the right person for the job."

"If I may suggest something Hokage-sama," Kakashi said after taking another look at Naruto's file. "It seems that both Naruto and Sasuke would make a great team with a Hyuga as the third member under my tutelage as an ex-ANBU member."

"I am sorry to say that that is quite impossible," Hiruzen spoke up before Kurenai, further throwing this meeting into disarray, could poise a challenge. "Team Eight is the best fit in both skill and politics as two of the members of the team are clan heirs and a third is a child of another clan head. This union, if they are to gel together as a team, could further stabilize the clan relationships within Konoha." Hiruzen specifically left out the part about the Civilian Council wanting a person of their choice to be on a team with the last Uchiha.

"I may have a proposition that Anko-san might agree to." Hiruzen inwardly cursed as he turned to his old friend Danzo. Danzo, for his part, was not happy with the preceding as well. He had planned for Naruto to fail and steal the Scroll of Seals. He had Mizuki fully convinced and on board with the plan. In reality Mizuki would have been subsequently killed and Naruto knocked out. He would use political means to ensure Naruto would find his way into his ROOT program. Alas his original plan had failed but he saw a chance to still obtain his end goal. "I have a few ANBU in mind that would take the challenge of teaching the young Uzumaki gladly, freeing up Mitarashi Anko from this duty."

"Sounds good to me," Anko shouted. "See ya guys later." She turned and made a beeline to the door only to be stopped by the sound of the Hokage's voice.

"Stop right there Anko." The purple haired woman turned on her heels to the glare of Sarutobi. She felt a chill go through her veins. "This assignment is for you and you alone." In truth an ANBU member would be good too but he didn't trust Danzo. While his ROOT program was technically dissolved, Hiruzen knew that it was continuing in the shadows. "I had been hoping to keep this conversation private but it seems that you have forced my hand. Your past behavior has been unacceptable Anko. Your obsession with Orochimaru has clouded your judgment to the point of breaking into a friendly nations most secure vaults in your quest to kill him."

Anko's eyes widened at the implications. "Hokage-sama?"

"You are lucky that Jomae does not have physical evidence or we would be forced to hand you over as a criminal, a rogue ninja." Hiruzen saw the pale look in the snake summoner's eyes. His message had gotten across. "In giving you an apprentice we are placing more responsibility on your shoulders. This is done in hopes of showing you the ramifications of the actions one can have on other's lives. You have a chance to right the wrong your sensei levied on you." Hiruzen took a deep breath before pulling out his ace in the hole, a card he didn't want to play but one the situation demanded. "If you do not accept this assignment then I will have no choice but to remove you from your position in the T&I Division for both the safety of yourself and the village. Is this understood?"

All Anko could do was nod slightly and mumble. "Hai Hokage-sama."

"Good and now onto Team Ten . . ."

•••••

The bartender took out his broom for what felt like the hundredth time that night. He sighed as he poured the remains of another broken glass into the garbage. He turned to see the cause sitting at the bar with her head down and her hand on a seventh glass of whiskey.

Anko had gone on a warpath straight to the Rusty Kunai. No one talked to her as she slammed open the door and went straight to the bar, demanding the best stuff the run down establishment had. After about the third drink the bartender attempted to reason with livid shinobi. That is when the glass breaking began.

Anko gripped her glass as another wave of anger and despair washed over her. Her gripped tightened to the point that the glass shattered in her hand. She sighed and shook her hand of the alcohol before ordering a replacement. She reached for her new drink, but stopped when she noticed a newcomer had placed themself directly next to her. She took a closer look through her hazy vision to see Umino Iruka had begun to order his own drink and was staring straight ahead.

"You are the last person I wanted to see," she said through slurred words. She grunted as she took a sip of her drink. The burn was still there. "You here to rub it in my face? To make a joke about how I have been put in my place or how embarrassing it must have been to get ripped a new one in front of some of the most prominent ninja in Konoha?"

Iruka took a sip from his sake and shook his head. "Nah I don't think anybody will be making those kind of jokes. Last time someone tried to make you the butt of a joke he was still pulling snakes from his pants a week later."

"And that is exactly the same thing that will happen to you if you don't beat it Umino," Anko said with a snarl. "I'm not in the mood."

"You make it sound like your career just got ruined," Iruka said nonchalantly.

"It has ended," Anko exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air. "Me, a sensei to a snot nosed gaki, some baka kid they think can be a tracker for the ANBU someday. Can you believe it? Whoever thought of this idea had a twisted sense of humor."

"The Hokage didn't seem to flinch when I suggested it to him." Iruka couldn't continue as he was suddenly flung onto the bar. He felt the cold metal of a kunai on his neck. When he opened his eyes he saw the auburn gaze of Anko staring back at him. She was straddling his waste, keeping him pinned the counter top.

"What did you just say?" she hissed like one of her snakes. She had sobered up really quickly after she processed what the Chunin had just said.

Iruka looked back into her cold gaze with one of his own. He would not back down on this issue, no matter how menacing the woman looked. "I said I chose the teams and you as Naruto's sensei."

Anko grabbed Iruka by his shirt, kunai still in hand, and bashed him back against the bar. "You bastard," she shouted. "Why would you do this to me? Do you hate me after what happened? Is that it? Is this some sort of sick, twisted way of getting revenge for what happened all those years ago?"

Iruka shook his head. He could feel the eyes of every patron and employee in the bar were settled on the two who were in heated discussion. "Not at all," he answered calmly.

"Then why me?" Anko questioned viciously. "Why dump that gaki on me and not someone else?"

"Because you two are the same," Iruka answered back. He saw the startled look in the purple haired woman's eyes at the statement. "I know how you are treated by the civilians and some of the ninja too. I know what they call you and I can see how it affects you. You hide it behind a mask, you pretend to be this crazy person who isn't fazed by anything. But I know that deep down it hurts. Every name you're called, every service refused or hiked up price hurts." He saw a glint return to Anko's eyes. He hadn't been killed yet. He would be pushing his luck but he had to continue. "Naruto is the same way. He is treated like a pariah, a social outcast. He is treated like he isn't even a human being. He is called a demon and a monster, but he isn't any of those things. He needs someone who can help him through those times, someone who can tell him that it will be ok. Kami knows Kakashi can't do that and I haven't been through what he has, but you have. He needs a sensei that can help him make friends and grow as a ninja and a person. He needs you, Anko. And you need him. We have all watched as you have spiraled deeper into depression. Your obsession with Orochimaru has consumed your life. Naruto has this way of brightening everyone's day. He can bring back the Anko we all knew and loved if you will only give him a chance."

Anko was fuming. She had been talked down to by the Hokage and now some Chunin instructor? She took her kunai into the air above Iruka's head and screamed out as she plunged it into the bar top next to his head. She kept her eyes on the Chunin as she slid off of him. She pointed to the door. "Get out."

Iruka silently slid off the bar and walked to the door. He turned back to look at the snake summoner. "Just think about it." With that he vanished into the darkness of the night.

"Want another one?" the bartender asked when the place had calmed down.

"No I'm good for the night."

Anko slapped enough ryo down to pay for her drinks and slipped out of the Rusty Kunai. She took a walk trying to clear her mind. After mindlessly walking, she found her way into Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death, and her favorite place in Konoha.

She unlocked the gate and walked in, closing the gate once she entered. Most ANBU were tentative to walk into the training ground, but Anko was at home. She got up into a perch of a tree and leaned back thinking about her predicament.

She wasn't happy about having a gaki to look after. She was feared as the scariest person in the T&I Division and she was now being charged with babysitting duties. Yet there was something she liked about the idea. She had a chance to be a sensei hers never was. She had a chance to actually do something good for her student and the kid did have promise. Maybe she would like it after all, yet she would wait to see that.

She sighed as she leaned back and enjoyed the sound of the forest around her. She knew where she would take him for his true Genin Exam at least.

•••••

Anko looked around at the Jonin that were stationed outside a classroom in the academy. She smirked when she Kurenai walk over to her. "You didn't waste much time getting stuck with a Genin squad."

Kurenai shrugged. "It was a good time for me. Hinata was graduating this year and I wanted to be her Jonin sensei."

"Are you sure it isn't because of Smokestack over them," Anko said as she gestured to Sarutobi Asuma.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kurenai denied with a blush one her cheeks. "We are just long time friends."

"Yeah that's why you pined for him and whined the entire time he was acting as a bodyguard," Anko poked fun at her friend. "You looked like a sad puppy who had her favorite chew toy taken away."

"You never seem to have grown up Anko," Kurenai said as she shook her head.

"Hey you're only young once but you can be immature forever," she said with her ear-to-ear smile on.

Kurenai chuckled before hearing her name called from the room. She waved at her friend before walking into the classroom and meeting her new students.

Anko looked around and found that she and 'Smokestack' were the only ones remaining in hall, that was quickly dealt with as Asuma walked into the classroom to his own team, the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho.

Ank gritted her teeth as she waited for her name to be called. Hearing the last name she wanted to be called, she took a breath and put a smile on her face before walking in. She took a quick glare at Iruka before turning and making eye contact with a blond hair, whiskered boy in a burnt orange shirt.

"I'm Mitirashi Anko. Welcome to hell gaki."


	8. A Chase Through the Forest of Death

**Hey guys! So I have been on a tear apparently with writing. This chapter was a lot of fun to write and it went by really fast. I really like this chapter and I hope you do to. As for the question about whether or not Naruto will interact with other teams, I do have that planned already after the next chapter.**

 **To everyone who has favorited this fic or followed I want to say thank you. I really really appreciate it.**

 **Like always please review this chapter, and if you haven't the entire fic if you would. Tell me your likes, dislikes, advice how I can improve my writing or your thoughts in general. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8**

Naruto began to get nervous. He had sat patiently throughout the team selection process in the academy waiting for his name to be called. He quickly did the math in his head: there were ten students left and so far only three students had gone onto each squad. That meant someone wasn't getting a team.

His hopes dimmed further when he heard Team Seven called. That left six clan students left. His hopes diminished further with the announcement of Team Eight. In a chair above him, Hinata also felt deflated. She had hoped that Naruto would have been on her team, but to no avail. Naruto sighed when Team Ten was called. Normally he would have jumped up and complained but the more he thought about it having a team wouldn't necessarily be terrible. It would give him another year with the foxes at least. His ears perked up when he heard Iruka continue on.

"And finally Uzumaki Naruto will be apprenticed by Mitirashi Anko," Iruka announced before rolling up his scroll.

Naruto looked to the door to see a purple haired woman in a trench coat walk through the door. He grew curious when the woman sent a glare toward Iruka but Naruto brushed it off as she began to speak. Their eyes met almost instantly.

"I'm Mitirashi Anko. Welcome to hell gaki," the woman announced with pride. "You are going to meet me at Training Ground 44 in an hour. If you are late, well let's just say you won't want find out what happens." With that she calmly walked out the door.

Naruto didn't know what to think about his newest sensei while the rest of the class looked on with awe. There was something different about her and it reminded him of Twilight and his 'don't care what you think' attitude. He had to admit that he liked it.

Sasuke was burning up on the inside. How did the dobe manage to get an apprenticeship while he was stuck in a team? He could hear his teeth grinding away in his mouth. Hinata, while sad she wasn't with Naruto, was happy he had gotten a new sensei.

She was heading out the door to meet with her new team when she noticed someone next to her. It was Naruto. Her face lit up into a hue of pink that would have made a flamingo jealous.

"Hey Hinata," Naruto said with his toothy grin. "You ok? You passed out the other day. You aren't sick are you?"

Hint felt a clot in her throat. Not trusting her voice, she simply shook her head.

"That's good. Maybe we could go to Ichiraku's some other time." Hinata's pink blush turned crimson red. "Anyways I got to get going. Can't be late. Bye Hinata."

Hinata just sheepishly waved as the orange clad boy ran out of the building. She walked the rest of the way to her meeting in a dream like state. _He still wants to hang out. That's good, right?_

•••••

Naruto looked up wide-eyed and took a big gulp. He had been laughed at by a Chunin when he asked him where Training Ground 44 was. The man simply laughed and pointed in the direction of the training ground. Naruto now knew why he was laughing.

In front of him, caged of by a barbwire-topped fence was the most menacing forest he had ever seen. His skin crawled just looking at it. What was worse was that Ishiri had a training day with his own sensei for kitsune jutsus. How he wished he had his partner with him right now.

He heard a chuckle. He looked to the fence to see his new sensei leaning up against it and chewing on dango. "Yeah that is a normal response to this place," she said, mouth half full of the dessert. "Surprised a gaki like you didn't piss himself at the sight."

"What is this place?" Naruto asked, pointing to the menacing forest in front of him.

"This is the Forest of Death gaki," she said as she finished her last stick of dango and promptly threw the stick like a senbon at Naruto's feet. "This place will become your new best friend. If it doesn't kill you."

"Fitting name for it," Naruto said with slight awe.

"It is isn't it?" Anko purred. "It is filled with creatures that would like nothing more than to make you their dinner. Snakes, tigers, bears, anything and everything you can think of with sharp claws and fangs are in there waiting for you. This will be your test."

"My what?" Naruto was shook from his thoughts by the Tokubetsu.

"Your test," Anko said nonchalantly. "Every Jonin sensei gives a test to make sure their students will be man enough to survive as a ninja for more than a day. If you don't pass then you are shipped back to the academy for another year. In your case, if you don't pass you'll probably die."

Anko had to force herself from not raising an eyebrow when she saw determination flash across her newest assignment's face and stay there. _This kid really does have guts; we'll see how long that lasts._

"What's the test?" Naruto asked.

"Oh Mr. Tough Guy I see," Anko mused. "Well if you really want to know tough guy, since you are apprenticed under me for tracking and stealth that is what I am going to test you on. Inside this gate is the Forest of Death, as I already have said, and in the middle is a tower, the safe haven for anyone foolish enough to go in. Your test, if you're stupid enough to accept, is to make it to the tower ten kilometers from any point along the fence."

"That's all?" Naruto was suspect.

"Oh did I mention that I will be chasing you the entire time?" Anko smirked when she saw the startled look from her new apprentice. "Yes. If I catch you, and I will catch you gaki, then I will happily ship your ass back to the academy and go back to enjoying my gaki-free lifestyle."

Naruto shook his head before his determines gaze returned. He worked too hard to be shipped back to the academy. He would pass no matter what. "When does the test start?"

"Your test starts," Anko paused for the gate to swing open, "now. You have five minutes before I give chase. Good luck, you'll need it." Anko chuckled as Naruto took off running, a dust cloud marking his trail. _The gaki knows how to run I'll give him that._

She pulled out another stick of dango and munched on it before checking her watch. Seeing she had given Naruto a 'fair' head start she decided to start their little game of cat and mouse, or as she liked to call it 'Snake and Mouse'. She swallowed the last bite before taking off in pursuit.

She new what the academy taught as their evasive maneuvering classes and made a beeline to the nearest river, which was easy to see from the gate she had chosen. She quickly picked up on a trail left by her prey. _Little gaki isn't as good as they say he is._

She followed the trail that took her through trees, multiple switchbacks through the river and little backtracks before her prey was in sight. He was running along the floor of the forest, making a change from the treetops, below her own line of running. She quickly jumped her newest branch at her target.

She rapidly ran through hand signs as her target turned around with widened eyes. "Ninja Art: Striking Shadow Snakes," she yelled before throwing of her arm forward and releasing three giant snakes from her sleeve. She had left out the venom from their fangs but the attack was only meant to subdue, not kill, her target.

She smiled triumphantly as Naruto brought both arms up to protect himself. Two of the snakes bit him in the arm while a third got through his defenses and struck his shoulder. The combined power of the snakes sent the wanna-be-Genin to the ground.

Anko smirked as she stood over her prey. "Got you gaki." Her smirk was quickly mirrored by the captured boy before he popped out of existence. _What? A Shadow Clone? How does a fresh academy graduate know that jutsu?_ She growled as she cursed herself for not reading his file more carefully. She should have known to not under estimate this kid, he had beaten her old academy record after all.

 _Ok kid I guess it's time to take you a little more seriously._ Anko again raced through hand signs before calling out a supplemental ninjutsu. "Ninja Art: Eyes of the Serpent Jutsu." Immediately her eyes took on reptilian characteristics as she took a look around the forest. See immediately saw the difference as she traced along different paths made by Shadow Clones. Clones didn't have the same body temperature as the one casting the jutsu but it was rarely something people could use as an advantage, for her it was second nature.

 _Clever gaki. Sending multiple clones out to make fake trails as you go straight for the tower. I have to give you credit. It was a good idea, but not good enough._ She took off on the path of the real Naruto.

Naruto, for his part, doubled his pace as the memories of the popped shadow clone came into his head. _Snakes? It really had to be snakes? Who the hell is the lady?_ He pushed the thoughts back into his mind, he couldn't worry about that now. Sending chakra to his ears and nose, he began to pick up something that made his heart drop. The distinctive smell of snakes and dango, coupled with the soft sound of a trained tracker running along the trees, was quickly gaining on him.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed an explosive tag. He slapped it on a tree and gave it a five second detonator, an approximation of his pursuers location. He kept on running until he heard the explosion. He ducked behind a tree to catch his breath. He had been running for thirty minutes and he had no clue how close he was to the finish line.

He froze as he heard a voice. "Nice try tough guy." He jumped and rolled out of the way of three snakes. He followed them to the trench coat of Anko.

He took out three shuriken and hurled them at her. Anko yawned as she batted them away with a kunai before being hit in the chest and thrown back by an invisible force. _What the hell was that? A wind jutsu? Ok I know_ _ **that**_ _wasn't in his file._ She looked around to see her target had escaped and was on the move again. _This kid is starting to get real annoying._

Naruto booked it as fast as he could. That air bullet wasn't going to buy him a lot of time, but anything would do. He was honestly surprised that little tricked worked on a Jonin but he wasn't complaining. He turned with a kunai in hand to intercept three of Anko's own shuriken.

Without hesitation he spun back around to block a volley of punches and kicks before doing a back flip onto his hands and pushing off of them to create more distance from his pursuer. _How is she catching up to me? There is no way she is this fast!_

"There is no where you can run tough guy," Anko said as she seemed to read the panic that was laced in his eyes. "I know this forest inside and out. No matter where you run to, no matter how far or fast your legs carry you, I will beat you there and I will catch you. Give up Naruto, it's over. You've lost." Anko inwardly smirked when she saw he had yet to back down. He had given her everything he had so far, now she just wanted to find out how much more he really had.

"No," Naruto shouted. "This isn't over, I'm not going to turn tail and run. That isn't who I am. If I'm going down then I am going down fighting."

Much to Anko's surprise, Naruto bit down on his thumb and ran through hand signs. _He has a summoning contract? Where the hell did he get one of those?_ Her question was met when a fox, crouched on all fours, its hair standing on end and ready to attack, stared back at her. _A fox? What the hell?_

She had to quickly regroup as the duo was suddenly on the attack. The orange fox attacked low while her apprentice attacked high, kunai drawn. She pulled a kunai out to block Naruto's as she jumped to avoid the fangs of the fox. She grabbed Naruto's forearm and threw him past her, adding a kick in his back for good measure.

The blond haired boy rebounded off a tree, jumping back next to his partner. Anko watched as the boy ran through more hand signs and the fox's muzzle began to leak smoke.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto threw his hands forward, releasing a powerful gust of wind. The attack wouldn't have worried Anko much had it not been mixed with a blue flame from the fox, making a deadly combination. The combo hit home. The boys looked on as a charred piece of wood fell to the ground in ashes.

"Where the hell did she go Naruto?" Ishiri asked from his spot next to his partner. When he was summoned he didn't ask any questions. He had felt the urgency in Naruto's chakra and responded to his partner's every move like that had practiced for hours before.

Naruto closed his eyes and focused before the smell of snake and dango became all too clear. "She's right there," he said as he launched a kunai, imbedding it in a tree limb that was slightly hidden by a truck of tree. The kunai was wrapped in two explosive tags, Naruto had decided to go big or go home, that exploded seconds after contact. "Come on Ishiri we got to move." Just like that the duo was off and running.

Anko panted from her spot hidden behind the trunk of a tree. She had not planned for the gaki to actually give her a workout. She had barely avoided that last attack with a Substitution Jutsu. She felt safe enough behind the trunk of a tree. She could keep her distance and plan an attack. She heard the thunk of a kunai and looked up to see one right above her wrapped in explosive tags.

 _No fucking way._ She thought as she jumped out of the way of the explosion. She hit the ground hard on her shoulder. She groaned as she got up, holding her shoulder. _Alright tough guy, play time is over._

"Naruto, what the hell is going on?" Ishiri asked as the duo raced across through the forest. "You haven't been a ninja for a week and you are already being hunted down?"

"That's my new sensei," he responded deadpanned.

"That's your new sensei?"

"Well I have to past this test. I need to get to the tower in the middle of this forest or else I'm going back to the academy," Naruto answered.

"Then let's bust it," Ishiri said as the two stopped talking and picked up their speed.

They came into a clearing but stopped at the tree line. "You smell that?" Ishiri asked.

"Yeah, she's near. You can smell the dango," Naruto whispered. Naruto made a shadow clone, sending it into the clearing. The pair looked on as the clone was suddenly made a porcupine by a down pour of senbon. They turned around when they heard a rustling in the bushes behind them.

They jumped back when Anko came springing at them. She threw shuriken at Naruto who vanished in a puff, substituted by a log. She turned her head to the orange fox before she noticed something. She turned back and flung a kunai that embedded itself in Naruto, who had substituted himself with the same log again. She snarled as the clone popped.

She had to substitute herself when she felt a fire jutsu from behind her, she suspected it was from her second opponent. Sitting in the middle of the clearing was Ishiri. He scanned the forest for the other two combatants. He could smell Naruto but their opponent seemed to be everywhere and he couldn't hear her, the noises of the forest drowning out any small noises.

He turned with a growl when he saw Naruto standing next to him with a piece of cloth in his hand. "What's that?" Ishiri asked.

"It's how she is keeping us stuck in this clearing," Naruto answered. "It's some sort of cloth she had been wearing recently. I found this near where I was."

"She placed it there so we couldn't find her," Ishiri surmised.

"Yeah so, unless we take a risk, we're stuck here," Naruto growled.

"Very observant gaki," Anko said as she dropped from a tree limp and into the clearing. "You're a smart one, I thought you would have taken the one opening I gave you."

"Too obvious," Naruto responded.

"It was worth a shot, but it doesn't matter now. The perimeter of this clearing is now plastered with explosive tags," Anko said as she gestured to the trees around them. "It's over."

"As I said before, I never give up and I don't back down. Shadow Clone Jutsu." Suddenly the clearing was full of Naruto's. Before Anko could respond the clones took off to the tree lines. This action was followed by subsequent explosions. _Holy shit! She wasn't bluffing._

Ishiri brought his tail up before swaying it and sending a volley of small flames toward their opponent. Naruto followed the flames, kunai in hand. Anko gracefully dodged the fire jutsu before pulling out her own kunai. Sparks flew as the blades connected again and again. Anko took a step into Naruto's guards and swung her kunai only for him to block with his own blade. They were held in this stalemate before she heard a growl behind her.

Ishiri had taken his chance with his opponent's back to him. He jumped at her with his claws. Anko shifted her waited onto her back foot before spinning and nailing Ishiri in the chest with a kick as she pushed Naruto to the ground with her kunai against his. Naruto rolled out of the way as Anko finished her spin and landed a kick where he had been on the ground.

The two sides took a second to compose themselves before continuing the fight. Anko was getting frustrated even more. Naruto on his own was easy but the fox was making this more of a hassle than it was worth.

"Ok kid, you want to play the summoning game? We'll play the summoning game." Naruto and Ishiri froze when they saw Anko bite her thumb and rush through hand signs before slapping the ground. Standing in front of Anko were three brown snakes as tall as her, each had its tongue hissing menacingly.

"You going to be ok three on one?" Naruto asked, not taking his eyes away from their opponents.

"Did you really just ask that?" Ishiri smirked when he saw Naruto roll his eyes.

"We need to make a break for it soon."

"Yeah I know," Ishiri said as the pair dashed at their respective opponents.

Ishiri ran into the middle of the three snakes before spinning and releasing a fire jutsu. The snakes backed up before diving in once the attack was finished. Ishiri swung his tail at one, connecting it with its nose, sending it back. He jumped and twisted his body, bring his claw down across the eyes of a second. All three snakes backed out, two hissing in anger and the third sizing up their prey.

He had made a good showing but Ishiri seriously wondered how much longer he could hold out, he was beginning to run low on chakra. He hoped Naruto was fairing better.

Naruto rushed at Anko who had one foot and the same hand extended lazily. Naruto threw a punch only for Anko to grab Naruto from underneath with her lead hand. She took a step forward with her back foot. She threw her other hand into Naruto's stomach, sending him above her head.

Naruto groaned as he was in the air. He had messed up badly. Bruno always taught them to be patient, but the entire day he hadn't been and he finally paid for it. He grunted in pain as his back hit the ground. Before he could attempt to get up he was screaming in pain.

On each shoulder was a snake with its teeth in his respective shoulder, coming from the purple haired woman's trench coat. She smirked at the blond boy who she had finally captured. Her eyes widened when Naruto twisted and bit one of the snakes. The snake reeled back with a hiss. Naruto twisted again and connected a punch to Anko's surprised face. Anko backed up a bit, enough that both his shoulders were free. He twisted on the ground as his feet did a propeller motion to give him space.

As he was spinning he reached into his pocket and grabbed his last explosive tag. He slapped it on the ground before jumping further back, out of the detonation zone. He crossed his arms in front of his face and crouched as the explosive went off. He rose slightly, surveying the smoke for any sign of his opponent.

"Ninja Art: Great Constrictor Jutsu." Naruto had barely heard the words before a large yellow snake appeared from the smoke. The snake hit Naruto like a clothesline and took him into a tree before wrapping around the boy several times, pinning him to the tree.

Naruto struggled. The snake slithered its tongue on Naruto's face as it increased its straggle hold on the whiskered boy. The feel of the snakes tongue on his face made him shiver. He had never felt a more disturbing feeling in his entire life. Suddenly the feel of cold metal on his throat joined it. Naruto opened his eyes and came eye to eye with a smirking Anko.

"Now you're done," Anko cooed. "And you won't be getting any help from your friend over there." She gestured with her kunai. Naruto relented and looked to see Ishiri had two snakes wrapped around him and a look of defeat on his own face.

Naruto grimaced before looking downwards. He had tried his best but to no avail. He had used every trick in the book he had. He had been on the offensive the entire test, giving it every little thing he had. He still lost.

"Oh don't look so sad gaki," Anko quipped. "I wouldn't think a person who just past their Genin Test would be so sad."

Naruto and Ishiri both perked up at the statement. They looked at each with skepticism before looking at the Tokubetsu who was beaming from ear to ear with her eyes closed. "Come again?"

"I said you passed gaki," Anko repeated with amusement.

"But I didn't get to the tower though," Naruto pointed out. "Hell I don't even know how close I am to it!"

"Closer than I thought you'd get," Anko said nonchalantly. "More to the point. You pass because in our line of work there will be times when we are put in situations that are an impossible, a Genin versus a Tokubetsu Jonin? Did I really expect you to pass? No of course not. I wanted to see if you had the guts it takes to do my job. You can't hesitate, you can't fight with fear. You proved today that you do have what it takes. Therefore you pass and are now an official Genin of Konoha. Congratulations."

"Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered loudly. Ishiri was also yipping happily even though both boys were still tied up. "This is awesome! I can't wait to go on missions and learn awesome new jutsu!"

"Now hold on their gaki," Anko said seriously. "Just because you passed doesn't mean you're in the clear just yet. Now you have to prove to me I made the right choice." Anko leaned in close to accentuate her point. "And I am a very difficult girl to please."

"Hai Anko-sensei."

 _Hmm I could get use to that_. Anko snapped her fingers and all her snakes vanished into smoke, releasing their prisoners. "Before we can begin though there are a few things we need to talk about," she said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Like what Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"Like your furry friend over there," Anko said as she pointed to Ishiri. "There are a lot of discrepancies between your file and your actual skills. We'll talk about it in the tower over dango. Bring the fox."

•••••

Naruto and Ishiri stared on as Anko tore through dango stick after dango stick. They had joked before that Naruto inhaled ramen and Ishiri never even tasted rabbit he ate it so fast, but they had never seen anything like this. The purple haired woman had two sticks in hand the entire time.

She looked up to see Naruto and Ishiri hadn't touched theirs. "You gonna eat those?" She asked with a full mouth. Naruto and Ishiri looked at each other and blinked before turning back and shaking their heads. In an instant the dango was off the stick and in her mouth.

After another minute of the feast Anko leaned back and patted her stomach. "Ah dango hits the spot." She belched before glancing at the duo who just stared at her with a mixture of shock and awe. "So what's the deal?"

"What?"

"What's the deal with the fox?" Anko asked before using a dango stick to pick her teeth. "Obviously he's your summons. How did you get him?"

"Well he kinda chose me," Naruto stated sheepishly. "He just showed up one day and the next thing I know I am signing a contract."

"Not the brightest bulb in the bunch are ya kid?" Anko asked sarcastically.

"Hey what does that suppose to mean?" Naruto asked flustered.

"All I'm saying is what kind of idiot just randomly follows a fox? Or anybody for that matter," Anko pointed out. "It could have been a trap and you would have never known."

Naruto opened his mouth to respond before closing it and looking to Ishiri. Ishiri, for his part, looked puzzled too. The pair never really thought about it but even they had to admit it was stupid.

"Well it worked out didn't it?" Naruto finally piped up.

"I would say so," Anko stated. "You guys looked like you have been training for years together."

"Well we have been." Anko pulled the stick from her mouth after she accidently stuck in the back of her throat from surprise. "We've been together for close to two years now. We train almost everyday and we just seem to have clicked."

"You have kept him a secret for two years?" Anko inquired with doubt. "How the heck did you manage that? Better yet why haven't you shown him off like the Inuzuka do their ninken?"

At the mention of being called a ninken, Ishiri gave the purple woman a snarl. Anko raised an eyebrow before brushing it off. "Well no one really paid attention to me the past few years. I could get away with a lot of stuff if I wanted to, I did before meeting Ishiri."

"That's its name?" To answer the question Ishiri brought up a paw and waved. Anko furrowed her eyebrows at the fox, not impressed by the gesture. "Cute. Anyways you didn't answer my other question: why hide him?"

The duo looked at each other, an unheard conversation being held, before Naturo shrugged. "Because Kaa-chan wanted to keep us a secret." Anko jumped when it was Ishiri who talked first. It was common practice for a kitsune to not speak in front someone they didn't trust, but if this woman was Naruto's new sensei Ishiri had to give her a try. "We have a lot of secrets as a clan that only our summoners are able to use and we'd like to protect them, and Naruto at the same time."

Anko shook off her shock. It made sense but she had to interject something. "You know this will be put on any mission report from others who find out, don't you Naruto?"

Naruto got a worried look on his face before something came to his mind. "Wait you said 'others'. Does that mean you won't tell anyone about this?"

Anko shrugged her shoulders. "Some things don't need to be told. Student-Sensei Confidentiality. As long as you two stay out of trouble, and keep me out of trouble, then we will have no problems. Got it?"

"Got it!" Naruto shouted in affirmation, his toothy grin showing his enthusiasm. He really did have an awesome sensei.

Anko smiled. _Maybe this won't be so bad. This kid has spunk._


	9. Chakra and Hard Work

**Hey guys! One thing that was brought up in reviews was Jaraiya. I do have a plan in regards to him and I hope that you guys can trust me and be patient, I do have a plan. Gonna admit that this chapter is fairly slow moving but the next chapter will have much more of a bang that I hope my readers will appreciate.**

 **Like always please review this fic! I have really appreciated everyone's input and reviews from typos I missed on my first few pass throughs or their thoughts on the fic in general. I am sincere when I say I truly appreciate it guys! If there is something you like or don't like, or things I can improve on with my writing, then review and tell me!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 9**

Naruto looked at the gate in front of him and groaned. His sensei wasn't kidding about this place being his new best friend. After they had talked more in the tower, Anko had given the young blond, and his partner, the rest of the day off. He was then told to be at the academy early the next day.

When he got there he noticed a note pinned to the front door with a kunai. He was instructed to follow her track to their training ground. He had followed it across the village, through trees and bushes, and past traps set up to kill, before finally finding himself at the gate they had entered the Forest of Death yesterday.

"Alright I know you're here sensei," he shouted. "I can smell the dango."

"Hmph, you're no fun," Anko said. Naruto looked up to see Anko sitting on a branch near the gate. She fell backwards, hooking her feet with the limp, and flipping before landing on the ground in front of him. "But impressive enough for a maggot like you I guess. None of my traps were triggered so I guess trap evasion won't have to be covered. I figured we'd spend the day in the hospital. Oh well, I'll have to try harder next time." She shrugged off her disappointment much to her student's shock and dismay.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Naruto shrieked. "First the explosive tags yesterday in the clearing and next the traps, which could have taken a team of ninja down. Are you crazy?"

Naruto froze as he felt a kunai rub against his cheek. His eyes hesitantly moved to the side to see his sensei standing there with a devious look on her face. He looked back to see the clone she had made pop out of existence.

"Never drop your guard on a track," Anko whispered in his ear, almost purring as she ran her kunai across his whiskers. "Never assume you have your prey caught until they are dead and the mission is complete."

Naruto felt his breakfast starting to come up. He had never been this nervous before, even Shadow and Twilight never got the drop on him like this before. At least he could sense them around but he had no idea she was hiding.

"H-how did you do that?" he sputtered out. He sighed when he felt the cool metal leave his skin. He reached up and rubbed the area he had felt the kunai. "I didn't even sense you. No smell, no track, nothing."

"That's because I concealed my chakra gaki," Anko said as she jumped back up onto the perch of the tree her clone had just occupied. "As much as I was impressed by your use of sound and smell to track, I also noticed you tracked using my chakra in one way or another."

"How did you figure that out?" Naruto asked.

"Tell me this gaki," Anko posed. "Yesterday, when you and that fox were stuck in the clearing, how did you know none of the articles of clothing were the real me?"

Naruto thought about for a while before shrugging. "They didn't feel right." He looked at his sensei who seemed to be prodding him to continue. "I don't know but something was missing from those scents. Something I couldn't explain. That's why I didn't go at a specific one."

"Like I suspected, you're a sensor kid," Anko said as she took out a file from her trench coat. "Someone has to talk to those academy instructors about improving their reports. They are completely useless. Lazy Chunins." She looked to Naruto who was peering back at her with a confused look on his face. "What is it maggot?"

"What's a sensor?"

"Kami maggot, they don't teach shit at that school do they?" Anko palmed her forehead. She grunted, continuing her impromptu lesson. "Sensors are shinobi with the ability to sense and identify others using their chakras or other means. Inuzaka's ninken, for an example, can identify a person's strength through the smell of someone's chakra. Others can use tactile means, such as vibrations of the ground, to pinpoint someone's location."

"So I can do that too?" Naruto asked with a look of hope and excitement in his eyes.

"Maybe but more likely you are like other, more elite shinobi," Anko said with a shrug. "A lot of elite Jonin or ANBU members can sense when someone is close, not with the precision of an actual sensor, but enough to not get killed. Usually comes with practice and mission experience."

"Well I've been hunting and tracking for a while," Naruto pointed out. "Think that could help?"

"Possibly but that isn't the point," Anko brushed off her student. "We are going to attempt to improve on that skill. Part of being a sensor, or developing minor skills in the field, is all about chakra manipulation. If a sensor can't tell the difference between his own chakra and that of his opponent's around him then his skills will be a moot point. Your reports also say that chakra control was one of your worst subjects. Might as well start from there."

Naruto shrugged, not seeing a point in it, but he would listen to his sensei. "Ok where are we gonna start?" he asked.

"By climbing this tree," Anko said, jumping down by her student's side. She turned her back to Naruto but continued to speak. "The point of this exercise is to teach you how to focus your chakra in a specific place on your body while at the same time controlling how much you put in. Too much chakra you will go flying off, too little and you'll slide down the trunk of the tree like water on a snakes back." She had been walking up the tree the entire time she spoke. Once she reached her perch, once again, she stopped and turned around. "Any questions?"

"Like this?"

Anko did a double take. Naruto was no longer on the ground but rather on the branch next to her. "Maggot were you even listening to me?" she yelled. She pinched the bridge of her nose and pointed down. "Never mind we are wasting time. Now get back down there and actually do the exercise. We have some place to be this afternoon."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders before jumping back down. Anko looked on, her eyes widening, when she saw Naruto calmly walk up the side of the tree like it was second nature. She looked at her charge, blinking blankly, as Naruto just stared back at her.

She furrowed her brow in announce. This sensei thing was getting really frustrating, really quickly. "Alright then smart-ass. You think you are something else don't you?" She growled when she only got a shrug of the shoulders as a response. "Fine we'll kick this little ditty up a notch. See that river over there?" Anko asked as she motioned with her thumb to the river that ran through Training Ground 44. "Walk across it using the same technique."

Naruto just groaned. Hopping off the tree he made his way over to the river. Not pausing, he walked out onto the top of the water, turned around and sat down. He looked up to his purple haired sensei. "Good enough?"

A tick mark grew on Anko's forehead as she reached into her trench coat and produced Naruto's file once more. She calmly ripped it half. Holding the two halves in either hand she lit them on fire with a little chakra. She brushed her hands of the soot caused by the burning paper. She sighed, collecting herself, before looking back to her student with a smile and look in her eyes that made Naruto's face turn pale.

"Alright then gaki, fun and games are over. Time to start playing for keeps."

Naruto looked on with curiosity as he walked up to his sensei who had landed on the ground. He sat across from her. His eyebrows rose when Anko put her hand, facing up, slightly to her side. A small, light brown snake with slitted eyes slithered out of her sleeve and seemed to dance around her. She gently lowered her hand onto the ground and allowed the snake to calmly slither out. The snake rose up and stared at Naruto before hissing, showing his pearly white fangs that were dripping with poison with a forked tongue in between them.

Naruto jumped back a little to the amusement of Anko who just chuckled. She was enjoying the sight. "This little guy is a viper and one of the most poisonous snakes I have in my arsenal. Now the problem is this guy is just a young, little snake and hasn't learned how to control his venom yet. Any bite he inflicts will inject a deadly poison into whatever poor creature pissed it off, and right now that is you gaki."

"What the hell am I suppose to do?" Naruto asked as his eyes shot up to his sensei before rapidly returning to the reptile in front of him who hissed at his sudden movement.

"The thing about my snakes, gaki, is that they like chakra," Anko cooed as she put her hand back on the ground. The brown viper turned to her instantly, slithering into her trench coat. Naruto's eyes went to the top of the trench coat to see it slither back out and come rest spread out on Anko's shoulder blades. "They become almost hypnotized at the right amount, becoming as harmless as a kitty cat. Your job is to sooth it by using just the right amount of chakra. Too little or too much and he'll bite you."

"Please tell me you have an antidote," Naruto said with a gulp.

Anko hummed as she patted her trench coat in several places. "Seems I left it with my other coat," she said with a shrug. She eyed Naruto with a menacing gaze. "But that shouldn't be a problem for a tough guy like you. After all you seemed to have mastered tree climbing and walking on water. This is just like them accept with a little more pressure."

"Pressure is right!" Naruto yelped as the viper slithered in front of him. "Ahri-sensei just threatened us with another round of training with Bruno-sensei."

Anko waved her hand at the panicked Genin. "Those foxes have their own idea of punishment and I have mine. I'd hurry up Naruto, he isn't looking too happy."

Naruto looked down before yelping and throwing his hands into a quick seal to focus his chakra, aiming for the perfect amount for the snake. The next hour left Anko rolling on the floor, gripping her ribs as she laughed. Naruto would occasionally put the snake at ease before miscuing a surge of chakra, sending the snake into a frenzy and Naruto into a frantic dance as he dodged the pissed serpent's attempts at biting him. After a bit Naruto seemed to have calmed the young viper down, only earning a hiss or two. Anko wiped away a tear before finally popping the snake out of the small clearing they were in.

"Oh Kami kid," she began, still chuckling. "I haven't laughed that hard since the time a cat got into the Inuzuka Compound and the ninken freaked out." She doubled over in laugher. "You should have seen it! They were everywhere in Konoha chasing that damn cat." She rose back up and settled herself once more. "Anyway that is enough of that for the morning session. We'll practice more later. Now it's time to teach you a skill I know isn't covered in the academy."

•••••

Naruto walked along, taking a few peaks around while the duo strolled through town. He was use to the occasional looks of hatred but they seemed to be coming more frequently. He looked to see Anko ignored them, even sent a few glares back to those who chose to let their gaze linger longer than the rest. He had always tried to make it seem like he never saw the glares or heard the whispers but he never once thought of glaring back.

"Here we are maggot." Naruto stopped looking around before lifting his gaze up to see a large concrete building. The building itself was dull compared to the others in the village. It was square with a few windows that came from the two-story building. The only thing noticeable was a brown sign above the main entrance with a red leaf symbol on either side. The sign read 'Konoha Intelligence Division'. "This is the Intelligence Division where you will train in one of the skills most needed by a tracker."

"What is it?" Naruto asked as he raised an eyebrow. The building wasn't anything to be impressed by. What could he possibly learn from this dump?

"Interrogation and torture," Anko cooed.

"Um . . . What?"

Anko motioned for her student to follow her as she continued. "Some of the targets that are tracked are hunted for information. Whether it be about information they gleaned as a spy in Konoha or about information they passed on during a courier mission. In most cases the information has to be gathered in the field. Thus a good tracker must be a good interrogator."

Naruto followed Anko through the door of building. In the lobby Naruto could see a few chairs, not comfy by any means it seemed, lining the walls of the tiny room. On the wall opposite the door was a window that had glass and bars keeping new comers out. On the other side was a man dressed in a grey outfit with bandages over his eyes, along with his hitai-ate, and on the top of his head.

The man looked up from a file before smirking and buzzing the pair into the next room. The once quiet and calm building turned into a buzzing circus filled with other shinobi in the same grey outfit running to and fro with files in hand.

"Ah Anko, nice of you to join us." Naruto turned his head to see a man with two parallel scares running along his face and his hitai-ate worn as a headband. He was different than the rest of the people in the building. He was a tall man, well built by the rough contours of his face and the air of a leader. He wore a black trench coat similar to Anko's own brown one. "And it looks like you brought a friend. This must be your new ball and chain."

"Naruto this is Morino Ibiki, the head of the Intelligence Division of Konoha and the most sadistic bastard you'll meet. He has broken more shinobi than anyone is willing to admit." Anko smirked when she saw Naruto's eyes flash with determination. _Ibiki is gonna like this kid._

Naruto looked into the man's eyes. They were black and cold. Naruto mentally shook off his stupor before returning the man's gaze with a glare of his own. The man snorted before chuckling. "He's got guts. Good, he'll need it for what's about to come next. Follow me kid."

Naruto followed Anko and Ibiki as the trio descended the stairs and into the depths of the building. Ibiki opened the door in an ill-lit hallway before flipping on the lights. Inside were four other men, all wearing the grey outfit of choice in the building. Naruto turned his head to see another window with a shinobi on the other side cuffed to a table.

"What's he in for?" Anko asked with an amused ring to her voice.

"It seems like Kusa have been buzy little ants," Ibiki said. He took a file from the table in the back of the room and handed it to Anko. "He was found with scrolls containing blue prints to an armor believed to be from Yukigakure."

"Yuki huh?" Anko hummed as she took in the prisoner. "Not much to go off of. Yuki hasn't been internationally active in years. What do you want to know?"

"We want to know if these blueprints are from a political alliance or he is just a spy who got lazy and crossed over our borders by mistake," Ibiki said. "It seems he has a barrier keeping Inoichi out of his thoughts. He has also made a few comments about the kunoichi of Konoha."

"He has, has he?" Anko furrowed her eyebrows as she read the comments in his file. "Give me five minutes. Take notes gaki."

Naruto just stood there and watched as Anko left the room. "What the hell just happened?" he asked. He turned to see the shinobi in the room huddle around the window. He was about to speak up before the door swung open. The same man who he had seen entering the building came in with a bowl of popcorn.

"Got the popcorn," he said as he entered the circle.

"Very good Tonbo," Ibiki said before offering some to Naruto. "You'll want a snack kid. The shows about to start."

"What show?"

"Just take a look," Ibiki said as he motioned with a thumb to the other room. Naruto noticed the door swing open and a calm Anko walking in with a file in her hand.

Seven minutes later had Anko walking back into the room to a shocked Naruto. Naruto stood there, eyes wide open and jaw on the floor, still staring into the room as the prisoner was shaking in his chair.

"You're losing your touch Anko," Ibiki made the off-handed comment. "Took you seven minutes this time."

"What can I say? I wanted to slow it down for the brat. Learn anything maggot?" she asked with a smirk.

"Never piss you off," Naruto muttered.

Anko shrugged her shoulders. "It's a start. Whenever I am called in for a low level interrogation such as this you will be here, taking notes. We'll talk about it later and delve deeper into methods used and when to use them. Understood?"

"Hai sensei," Naruto seemed to come back to life. "When will we start?"

"Not until later in your training," Anko said as she patted him on the head. "I want you to see a few rounds before we really dig in. If your lucky Ibiki might even let you in on his interrogations."

"I'll consider the boy," Ibiki said, taking another glance at the blond haired boy in his building. "I've read his files. Quite a promising shinobi."

"Burn those files Ibiki," Anko stated. "They're next to useless."

Ibiki hummed before exiting the door. He ordered for the prisoner to be taken to his holding cell and turned to the duo. "Good, they were going be changed anyway," Ibiki stated. "He'll need clearance so he doesn't have to follow you in everyday. He'll get a more thorough review from you and a few others in the Intelligence Division. Now how about lunch?"

"Lunch?" Naruto asked, still confused by the topic of choice among the Tokubetsu Jonin.

"Post-torture lunch is the best tasting meal you'll ever have gaki," Anko joked. "Tastes just little bit fresher. You'll learn eventually kid."

•••••

Naruto squirmed in his seat. He had never been in any other restaurant besides Ichiraku's, let alone a barbeque place in the clan part of the village. He noticed that the patrons of the eatery were primarily shinobi with only a few civilians inside. The prices were also through the roof compared to instant ramen he had become use to. How the hell was he gonna afford it?

What truly made him uncomfortable was the lack of glares he got from the waitress. She actually treated him like a valued customer. He didn't know if it was the larger group he was with or she just mistook him for someone else. Either way it made him feel uncomfortable because he thought it would all change too quickly.

"Quit looking like you a have snake in your pants maggot," Anko said with a nudge. She grabbed a piece of meat with chopsticks and slapped it onto the grill in the middle of the table. "You act like you've never been to a barbeque joint before."

"I haven't," Naruto responded. "Hell I didn't even know this place existed let alone they would actually let me eat here."

Anko mentally slapped herself. Of course he would feel out of place. The one thing in his file that was remotely accurate was his treatment by the civilians. She had seen his apartment complex and the way people glared at him when they walked through the village. She made a mental note to take him to lunch more, especially the shinobi owned businesses.

"This place is owned by a member of the Akimichi clan," Anko said before taking a bite of her food. She swallowed it before continuing. "The Akimichi are a well known clan of Konoha and many retired shinobi of the clan open restaurants. If you come in here as a shinobi of the Leaf then they will take care of you. Try some kid, it's on me."

Naruto took a short rib that had been cooking for a bit and popped it into his mouth. He immediately brightened up before going in for seconds. Anko chuckled before a few more members of their party joined in.

"Liking the food kid?" a man with brown hair that framed his face asked.

Naruto nodded his head furiously. "Yeah this stuff is almost as good as the ramen from Ichiraku's!" The rest of the group just laughed as the blond haired boy continued to eat.

Naruto began to open up to the rest of the Chunin as the meal continued. They seemed to have accepted him quickly and even joked with him about his new sensei who shot the Chunin dirty glares. Naruto had eaten meals with Iruka but he had never been with so many people. It was a nice change of pace and he had to admit he liked it.

The group dispersed, the Chunin, and Ibiki, headed back to the Intelligence Division while Anko and Naruto stayed back as she enjoyed some dango.

"Fun group aren't they kid?" she asked with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah that was a lot of fun," Naruto exclaimed. "Do you think we could have lunch with them again?"

Anko shrugged as she picked her teeth with the empty dango stick. "Depends on how hard you work maggot. Slack off and the only thing you'll be eating is dirt. Don't let this little trip fool you kid, work comes before play."

"Hai sensei," Naruto nodded.

"Speaking of work," Anko started as she got up, "we got to get back to it. Come on tough guy we got to get going. Time to start learning a few jutsus."

•••••

"This isn't jutsu training, it's just another chakra control exercise," Naruto groaned. In front of him was a small candle that was flickering, casting a small shadow within the Forest of Death.

Another tick mark grew on Anko's forehead. She brought her fist up and knocked Naruto on the top of the head, sending him into the ground. "Oi! Shut it gaki. This isn't 'just another chakra control exercise' you brat," she said with annoyance. "This practice to develop a second nature transformation for more a wider range of jutsu, specifically with fire. It's clear your affinity is wind. You displayed two C-ranked wind jutsus so we'll have to go outside to find someone to help you with that, but until then we can always develop another element."

"How is lighting a candle on fire going to help?" Naruto asked, very suspect of his sensei's teaching style.

"Would you rather we go back to the snake?" Anko smirked when she got a panicked shake of the head from Naruto. "I thought so. To be able to control the flame on the candle you will have to mold your chakra in a way that fits the flame, ergo fire will help with a new nature transformation. Since fire jutsu is augmented by wind jutsu then this should be an easy jump. Get it?"

"Got it," Naruto nodded with enthusiasm. "Then will you teach me jutsu?"

Anko pinched the bridge of her nose again before sighing. "Just get to work. But be car-" she was interrupted by a large boom. She coughed as she waved smoke out of her face. He blinked to see Naruto covered in soot, shaking his blond hair free of the black material. "Dammit gaki."

"Well at least I got a big flame." Naruto looked at the destroyed candle. "Sort of."

"Next time listen before barreling into something maggot."

"But I did listen," Naruto retorted back. "Use my chakra to make the flame of the candle bigger."

"Slowly gaki," Anko shouted the missing piece of the instructions. "If you use a lot of your normal chakra, which is wind affinity, then you'll create an out of control flame or explosion. And thus you get this!" She motioned to the destroyed candle and the charred ground around them.

"Oops." Naruto gave Anko an ear-to-ear smile as he placed a hand behind his head. "I'll get it this time."

Anko plopped down on the ground and placed her elbow on her leg, resting her head on her hand. She could only chuckle as she watched Naruto try again and again to control the flame, only for him to lose control. But he never once quit. _Maybe I won't kill Umino after all._

•••••

Ishiri was looking through a scroll in the Kitsune Library before a familiar scent passed his nose. He looked up to see Naruto's clothes charred and a beaming smile on his face.

"You seem happy," he said with a raised eyebrow. "How'd it go?"

Naruto beamed even brighter at his partner. "Great!"


	10. The Smell of Lavender

**Heyo! I'm back with another chapter of Lord of Foxes. So I was really excited about this chapter, but I don't know how it came out. The fight scene, I feel, could have been better, but I hope my readers will enjoy it. I honestly think a lot of people will enjoy this chapter. One thing that came up with Kurama. He is a big part of this fic and he will come up in the next arc of the story which starts next chapter and hopefully you like that.**

 **Please review this fic. I really do appreciate all the feedback I am getting. If you guys read this and have thoughts then please tell me what you think. Whether it is likes or dislikes, advice how I can improve my writing, or just thoughts in general then review and tell me.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10**

She prowled the alleyway looking for her prey. She was a top predator, few prey ever escaping her claws. She prowled around, lifting her head when she heard a slight noise. Intruders were the last thing she needed when she was this close.

She walked a little further until something jumped out at her from the shadows. She went to jump away before being unable to move, trapped like the rat she was hunting. The hairs on her back went down when she felt a gently hand stroke her back, followed with a tasty treat.

Ino looked down as she picked up the cat. She earned a purr from the feline when she scratched it behind her ear with a red ribbon on it. She walked out of the alley to the rest of her team.

"About time we catch that stupid cat," Naruto shouted. Tora hissed at the blond haired boy who was littered with scratches and claw marks.

"Well we would have caught her sooner had SOMEONE not decided to pop open a new bag of potato chips," Ino exclaimed as she glared at Choji who was munching on a bag of his favorite barbecue chips. "Seriously Choji, we're on a mission. Can't you stop for like two seconds?"

"No can do Ino," he said with a mouth full. "I have to keep my energy up."

"It's not like this is a real mission anyways." The group turned to the mastermind of the coordinated strike. Nara Shikamaru was leaning up against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "We got the cat. We accomplished the 'mission' so let's get back to the briefing room and get rid of the thing."

"Wow only took you an hour and a half." Again the group looked up to see Sarutobi Asum crouched on a roof top with a cigarette in his mouth. "Beat Team Eight's mark by two hours and Team Seven's by . . . well by a lot more than two hours. Good job Naruto."

"Hey what about me?" Ino piped up with Tora still comfortable in her hands. "I'm the one who actually caught her and keeping her remotely calm at the same time."

"Yeah only because Shikamaru caught it in a shadow," Choji pointed out between munches of potato chips.

A tick mark grew on Ino's forehead. She brought a finger up, about to protest, but was interrupted by the lazy Nara. "It doesn't matter if I caught it in a shadow or that Ino can keep it calm. We'd still be searching for it had Naruto not picked up its trail. Thanks Naruto."

Naruto smiled. He went over to Shikamaru and pounded him on the back. "Thanks Shikamaru," he exclaimed. Shikamaru lunged forward with a grunt before glaring at his current teammate while rubbing his shoulder.

"No problem."

It had been a month since Naruto started his apprenticeship with Mitarashi Anko. Naruto had been hesitant at first when Anko had told him he'd start training and doing missions with other rookie teams a few times a week. He had argued profusely until he found himself wrapped up by a snake and hanging upside down from a tree. He had to admit that his sensei had a point. While working individually with Anko was great, she couldn't teach him teamwork or wind jutsus. So, when Anko had an appointment at the Intelligence Division above his head, he would become a pseudo-team member for the day.

While he had enjoyed and meshed well Team Eight, Team Seven was another issue. The entire time he and Sasuke would be at each other's throats, with Sakura backing Sasuke, all the while Sai would sit back and take notes.

"Can we get lunch now?" Choji asked.

Asuma scratched the top of his head as he examined his team, plus Naruto. They were certainly a strange group. "I guess I did promise if you beat Team Eight's time we'd go so I guess so. Hey Naruto does Anko want to join us?"

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She said she had a big meeting today."

•••••

"So whatcha want?" Anko asked as she stuffed her mouth with dango. So she had told Naruto and Asuma a little white lie about an 'important meeting'. She had heard the next mission Asuma had selected for his team and thought Naruto would get decent experience tracking with a team. It had worked itself out when Kurenai asked to meet up for some lunch.

"I need Naruto for something," she cut straight to the point.

Anko waved a dango stick in the air to brush off her friend's request. "We've been over this before Kurenai: Naruto won't learn anything from training with your team."

"Yet you send him with Kakashi and that train wreck of a team?" she piped up with a look of shock. "Hell he is barely even teaching genjutsu, or anything for that matter. How is Naruto receiving anything from him?"

Anko smirked before responding. "Learning to deal with people he doesn't like." Kurenai's jaw dropped before the purple haired Tokubetsu continued. "Naruto and Sasuke don't exactly get along, so I put him with Kakashi every once in a while to see if he works past it for the betterment of the team, and more importantly, the mission. Plus it also helps that I got Kakashi to beg a bit. I don't know why he is so adamant about training him but he is."

"Ok well then I can teach him genjutsu," Kurenai spoke up. "I mean I know you aren't proficient in the art so at least give me a shot."

Anko looked critically at her friend after the slight to her skills. "Ok Kurenai, what is this all about? There has to be more to it than actually teaching Naruto anything."

"Well I was hoping to get some extra help on missions. Tasks we take are done in practically half the time when Team Ten has Naruto." Kurenai sighed when she got a look from Anko that told her she knew she had held something back. "And I know Asuma wants to have Naruto help his team catch Tora. We have a bet going and-"

"And I think you lost. Naruto has that cat by now."

Kurenai groaned again. "Well there goes 100 ryo down the drain."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I am disappointed in you Kurenai," Anko joked with her friend. "Thinking you could use my friendship to win a bet. At least Asuma had something beneficial for my gaki."

"Which is what?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"Wind jutsu. Asuma is one of the only ninja in the village with that skill. So he teaches Naruto some new wind jutsus and he helps with missions and such. Overall it's a good trade," Anko stated.

"You're already teaching the boy about nature transformations?" Kurenai looked skeptical. She shook her head, finding herself off topic. "Ok fine, doesn't matter. I'll take the hit with the Tora mission but I do need Naruto for another one."

Anko went from jovial to serious really quickly. Kurenai was always stubborn, but there was something different now. There seemed to be a very serious purpose in her words and urgency. "I'm listening."

"I need Naruto to test my team," Kurenai said. She pulled out a file and tossed it in front of Anko. The snake user opened it up and scanned it while Kurenai continued to talk. "I'm confident in my team's ability but before I let them lose on a C-ranked mission I need to know, without a doubt, that they are ready. Plus this will also show the skills Naruto has."

Anko nodded in agreement. "This would be a good assessment of his abilities. Using tracking to intercept important documents or catching up and stalling while back up arrives." She shut the file and slid it back to her friend. "Sorry but both my student and I will pass."

"What?!" Kurenai shrieked. She thought she had had the dango-obsessed kunoichi.

"Three-on-one, four if you count the ninken and countless more if you include the Aburame's kikaichu. Naruto wouldn't even stand a chance." Anko inwardly smirked when she saw the cogs in Kurenai's head turning. Anko firmly believed the whiskered boy would come out on top, but why not get something for herself? She began to get up. "Well lunch was nice, but Naruto should be done chasing that cat s-"

"I'll sweeten the deal."

"Say what?" Anko asked from her half-seated, half-standing position. She mentally fist pumped. _Hook, line and sinker._

"I'll make a bet," Kurenai spoke up. "If Naruto wins then I will pay for a weekend's worth of dango, including Friday. No matter how much." Anko had to keep a calm demeanor, she needed to hear the rest. "But if Naruto loses then you need to help teach my team tracking and I will help Naruto with genjutsu. Trade for trade."

Anko sat down and put her finger on her chin. She knew she would accept the offer but why not have some more fun. "Deal." She reached and gave Kurenai a firm handshake. "Naruto will be ready Thursday and I imagine your team will have no idea."

"They will be told they will face resistance just not from whom."

Anko nodded again. "Deal. Winner is who's maggot, or maggots, come back with the package."

"Hai."

Anko smiled deviously as she got up from her seat again. "Then may the best sensei win."

Kurenai saw her friend exit the restaurant. She had a bad feeling she had just gotten played by one of the best manipulators in Konoha.

•••••

Naruto was leaning against the trunk of a tree, looking through a scroll for learning fuinjutsu given to him by Suzuki. The fox was really excited to start teaching him and Ishiri but Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of the scroll. Suzuki said to read up for their first session, Naruto only hoped he would make the scroll make sense.

He peered up from his scroll when he heard something hit the ground by his side. He looked down to see a stack of files sitting next to him. "More homework? Who are we studying this time?" During the last week Naruto would go through files and watch videos of interrogations. He would go through a prisoner's file and talk about how he would go about an interrogation before looking at tape.

He reached over and took the stack, opening it up and peering through it. He was surprised when a timid smile and lavender eyes were staring back at him. "Hinata?" He took the file from underneath it, even more curious. "Kiba and Shino? Sensei, why did you give me these? They didn't do anything wrong, did they?"

Anko shook her head before jumping up onto a limb and leaning on the trunk while sitting on a branch. "Nope, still taking the straight and narrow. Boring files really. But take a look anyways, they'll be your next mission."

"My next mission? Will I be with them or something?" Naruto asked as he went through Shino's file. He knew very little about the bug user or his clan in general.

"Nope. Your mission will be to stop theirs." Anko was surprised Naruto hadn't looked up from the files. It had been a headache teaching him to look through files, his short attention span wasn't suited for it. But like everything else, he rose to the challenge. Mostly due to Ibiki but she didn't mind.

"Ok, but what's their mission then?" Naruto finally looked up with a skeptical gaze.

"A retrieval mission. They'll be picking up a package from an outpost about ten miles from Konoha and return it to a destination in the village. Your job is to intercept the package and get it to the same destination." Anko tossed another file, detailing the mission, on the file Naruto was looking through; this time it was Hinata's.

"Some package," Naruto said with a huff. "It's just milk from a farm. It's another D-ranked mission. When am I going to actually get a real mission?"

"This is a real mission gaki," Anko said with a growl. "Imagine the package to be classified intel that could damage the village. If it gets to it's destination then Konoha is screwed. So we send out a small team, a group of people, or in an extreme cases only a single shinobi, that can catch the group and stall them until back up can arrive."

"Really sensei?" Naruto flung the file off to the side before returning to the personnel files. "Then why give me these files?"

"Getting you use to using a Bingo Book gaki," Anko responded. "Learn to study files or entries so you will never be ill-prepared."

"So when's the mission?"

"Thursday. You will have two days to prepare. Learn the landscape, make a plan and execute gaki. I'm counting on you." Anko smiled to herself as she dangled the bait that would really get him revved up. "And if you win I'll make it worth your while."

Naruto heard the ring in her voice. He finally set the files down and looked at his sensei seriously. "Ok, I'll bite, what is it?"

"You win and I'll give you the weekend off and I'll finally sign off on a C-ranked with either Asuma or Kakashi's teams." Anko's jaw dropped when she got a quick response.

"No."

"No? What do you mean 'no'?"

"The weekend off and a C-ranked with you, not Team Ten or Team Seven." Naruto looked at his sensei with determination. "You and me, student and sensei. I'm sick of doing missions with other Jonin sensei while you're off at some meeting or interrogation. I want to actually do a mission with you. Take it or leave it."

Anko chuckled as her head leaned back against the trunk. "I've taught you too well maggot." She sighed and looked at her apprentice. "Fine gaki, you got a deal. The weekend off and a C-ranked, I deem fit, that we will do as a duo."

Naruto jumped up as he pumped his fist in the air. "Dattebayo! That's what I'm talking about. I'll see you later sensei! I got to get ready."

Anko was about to interrupt before Naruto took off with a trail of dust being left behind. She just chuckled and shook her head. "That's alright gaki, not like I had other training planned for today anyways. But whatever, gives me more time to decide the order of dango I want to partake in." She put her hand in her trench coat, producing the menu from her favorite dango shop. "Hmm…. What sounds good?"

•••••

"Ishiri we got a mission!" Naruto yelled as he barged into the Kitsune Library. He looked up to see Ishiri with bandages around his neck, feet and tail with an annoyed Satsuri standing above him. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Baka here decided to go overboard on ninjutsu training," Satsuri said as she bopped him on the head with her tail. "I told you to stop."

"Yeah, yeah. You sound like Kaa-chan," Ishiri muttered toward the green vixen before looking to his partner. He noticed the folders in Naruto's hand and his exuberant expression. "What's up with those," he said as he motioned with his chin, a slight wince coming along with it.

"Just our first mission," Naruto said with a smile.

"That's what you said about chasing that damn cat around," Ishiri said with annoyance. "It took me a week to stop scratching myself after that stupid cat ran through poison ivy. Rather deal with that mutt again than that stupid thing."

"Well then you just got your wish," Naruto said as he slapped Kiba's folder down in front of Ishiri. In the picture of the file was Kiba with Akamaru on his head.

"You don't say?" Ishiri was curious now. He took a paw, and using a nail, turned the page and started reading up on the young Inuzuka. "Hmpf. Why that mutt is so proud of his owner I will never know. He was as dumb as you were in the academy."

"Hey! I saw your report cards. You have no room to talk," Naruto shouted in defense.

"That is true. Ishiri-kun was always the class clown," Satsuri added in, giggling with a paw up to her muzzle. She couldn't help it with the look Ishiri was giving her.

"Thanks a lot traitor," Ishiri said with a playful snarl. "Ok so what is the mission?"

"We need to take a delivery of milk off their hands," Naruto said as he threw down the mission details. "According to Anko-sensei we can only make the try after they get the milk from the farm. That gives us about ten miles along trails and in woods and another two to three in the village."

"We can rule out the village," Ishiri added nonchalantly. "Too much traffic, plus this isn't an A-ranked mission, only a D-ranked. Wouldn't be worth destroying half the village."

"Agreed. So that leaves the ten miles outside of the village to work with. There is a straight shot to the farm that takes a forest road with a few turns. An easy ambush position along many of the points." Naruto pointed to the map that outlined the route he suspected Team Eight would take.

"Nah too obvious," Ishiri said as he waved his paw in front of him. "Too many areas for traps and hidden enemies. They'd want to take a more open path to the village."

"Well the only open path is a clearing used for training grounds." Again Naruto pointed to the area of the map that was crossed off. "I figured they wouldn't take that way either. Too much foot traffic, specifically shinobi foot traffic."

"They wouldn't be able to accurately tell who was an opponent or who was a normal ninja just out training," Ishiri said as he finished his partner's thoughts. "Leaving only a romp through the woods as their optimal course. Which doesn't help us narrow down the search at all."

"What about this?" The boys looked on curiously as the green vixen, who had been listening intently, finally spoke up. "That seems like another path they could take."

"Not really," Naruto said as he brushed off the idea. "It's just a path used by civilians that circles the village. Just a trail for site seeing. If anything it would make their time longer than a straight shot."

"Well it is a path and don't humans like to use those to take leisurely walks?" Satsuri questioned. "Maybe one of them frequents the trail a lot."

"Nah, Hinata would take a walk around her compound. Who knows what Shino would do and Kiba and Akamaru would just be running around the woods," Naruto said as he went back to studying the map.

Ishiri furrowed his brow as thoughts began to run through his mind. After a while of silence he finally spoke up. "Maybe not." Naruto and Satsuri looked at the orange fox who continued his thoughts. "I remember when I found myself, unfortunately, in the Inuzuka kennels that a few of the ninken were talking about their morning walk. They said they take one everyday that goes around the village. If that is it then I bet that Kiba knows the trail quite well, probably has every scent of the path memorized, along with Akamaru. With that knowledge I bet he would feel more than confident enough taking it back."

"Makes sense, but are you sure?" Naruto asked, wanting to be confident in their choice.

"Well we can always swing by the Inuzuka Compound," Ishiri answered. "I can memorize maybe five or six of the dogs' scents and then we can hit the trail. If they use that particular one then their scent should still be on it. That would also allow us to scout out the area a bit."

"I'll buy that," Naruto said with a smile. "That only leaves the issue of the numbers disadvantage. No offense but I think Kaa-chan would be upset if we blew our cover on something like this."

"Yeah after we boasted about winning that tracking challenge she wasn't all too happy with us," Ishiri said as he shivered. The punishment of extra training with Bruno, along with nighttime tracking during bad weather, wasn't enjoyable for the two. "Still if I can stay hidden I am sure I can help at least distract the mutt long enough, maybe even get him to chase me."

"Ishiri-kun don't do anything stupid," Satsuri cried out.

"Eh I could take that white fur ball any day, but I don't know if Friday will be that day, not with his master around him," Ishiri said with slight disappointment.

"Getting back on topic," Naruto said as he tried to steer the conversation back to the main topic, "We have to take away their strengths. Hinata's is the Byakugan, Shino's is bugs and Kiba's is Akamaru."

The group again fell into silence as they pondered the problem and possible solutions. Ideas ran through their heads but the boys were stumped. They stayed in silence longer until Satsuri finally spoke up.

"Smell."

"Hmm? What was that?" Naruto asked as he woke himself from a slight daze he had been in. Staring at the map gave him no help in staying awake.

"Smell. The kikaichu rely a lot on pheromones to communicate and do a lot their tracking. A strong enough smell might throw them off enough for them to not be a real factor. Plus a strong enough smell on a ninken would shut down their nose and, again, make them nearly useless. A bad enough smell makes us want to puke and shut down so I am sure it would be the same for him," Satsuri pointed out.

"Satsuri-chan that is brilliant," Naruto exclaimed.

"Not to rain on your parade but that still leaves the Hyuga," Ishiri pointed out. "Unless that smell is a bunch of chopped onions then that won't help fight her eyes."

"Well what about my shadow clones?" Naruto offered.

"What about them?"

"You said they didn't smell like anything right?" Ishiri nodded in the affirmative. "Isn't that the only thing that is really different about them? Maybe Hinata's Byakugan won't see the difference and with their sense of smell hindered neither will Akamaru or Shino's bugs."

"Ok but that still leaves us with the smell part. What type of smell would throw them off that much?" Ishiri asked.

"Maybe rotten fish," Satsuri suggested.

"No that would be too obvious from a distance and especially on the path where we want to make our move," Ishiri said, shooting down the green vixen's idea.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in Naruto's head. "Hey you remember that time we actually beat Shadow and Twilight-sensei?"

Ishiri looked at his partner as he reached back into his memory. "Yeah I think so."

"Remember how we did it?" Naruto waited for his partner to get the point. His smile grew as Ishiri's eyes did too. Naruto knew they were on the same page.

"That could work!"

•••••

Team Eight looked at their sensei with confusion. Yuhi Kurenai was jingling three silver bells in front of them.

"That is our mission?" Kiba finally piped up. "Three bells?"

"No your mission it to return milk from a farm on the outskirts of Konoha and bring to a owner of a grocery store that can't make it out there today," she specified.

"Then why the bells, sensei?" Hinata asked.

"This mission is also to see if Team Eight is ready for a C-ranked mission. You will face resistance in the form of enemy shinobi." Kurenai inwardly smiled as both Kiba and Akamaru perked up. She swore if Kiba had a tail it would be wagging as fast as his ninken's. "Because we don't want to actually kill our fellow Konoha shinobi you will have these, along with your opponent. If you can take the bell, or they takes yours, then they will be considered dead and cannot continue the mission. Understood?" Kurenai smiled when she got a nod from her three students. "Good. Then the mission starts now."

•••••

"I think Kurenai-sensei was joking with us," Kiba announced as the trio that made up Team Eight ran along a trail outside of Konoha. "She probably just wanted us to be quick about it and made it seem like it was a test just so she could take the day off."

"I-I don't think Kurenai-sensei would lie to us Kiba-kun," Hinata remarked. "She's always been truthful to me."

"Yes, it would seem that her words were quite serious," Shino added on as he ran along with his teammates. "Kurenai is our Jonin sensei. She would not benefit from lying to us. It is logical that she was telling the truth and we should be on the look out for an attacker."

"Yeah right," Kiba waved off Shino's advice. "This trail is only used by civilians and the Inuzuka for walking the ninken in the morning," Kiba smiled when he saw Akamaru dash from one tree to another, sniffing the entire way. "This so-called 'test' is as easy as anything that we have seen in the academy."

"Then would you care to explain the genjutsu we just walked into?"

Hinata and Kiba's heads shot up to the trail in front of them. They took another look and saw what the Aburame was talking about. The shadows of the trees were sporadic, not fitting the more solid tree line and limbs that covered either side of the trail. Kiba immediately motioned for Akamaru to join him. The ninken jumped on his master's head and waited patiently.

All three put up a hand seal and focused their chakra, attempting to break the genjutsu. "Kai," they all shouted. When they took another look around the trail it was evident what the genjutsu attempted to mask.

"Trip wires? Really?" Kiba just smirked as he shook his head. "What does Kurenai-sensei take us for? First year academy students?"

"I wouldn't if I were you," Shino suggested only for the Inuzuka to wave him off.

"Please this is just like walking around the kennels in the compound. Gotta stay on your toes if you don't want to step on dog shit." Kiba took a step over the first trip wire and smiled. "See Shino? Just stay on your toes."

His joy was quickly curved when he tried to step over the next wire. When is foot hit the duo of Inuzuka and ninken were enveloped in an explosion. Kiba coughed as he backed up, trying to get out of the trap.

"Kiba-kun are you ok?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Yeah it was only a smoke bomb," Kiba responded. "Not a big deal."

"Huh. I thought you would at least make it past the second set." The group immediately went ridged.

Shino jumped to Hinata's side, his kikaichu already beginning to come out of his sleeves. Kiba joined the other side, getting on all fours, while Akamaru went in front of the Hyuga. Hinata, meanwhile, lowered herself into a Gentle Fist stance.

"Hinata take a look. Where is that voice coming from?" Kiba requested.

Hinata closed her eyes. Veins appeared on the side of her eyes before she shot them open revealing her Kekkei Genkai. She scanned the forest before gasping. There were multiple chakra signatures, all the same except for one that was on all fours in a bush near the trail.

"We're surrounded," she announced.

"How is that possible?" Kiba asked with shock.

"You got careless." Again the group looked up into the trees to see Naruto leaning against the trunk of a tree while resting on a limb. He was staring at his nails while picking at them with a kunai. "Anko-sensei always said the first trap isn't what gets a target but the second one. Didn't think you'd actually fall for such a simple trick."

"You're our opponent?" Kiba asked before bursting into laughter. "Oh this is going be too easy."

"Don't underestimate him Kiba," Shino suggested. "He did just make you look like a fool."

"Behind us," Hinata shouted before jumping away. The boys turned to see another Naruto land between them and throw something on the ground.

They were again enveloped in an explosion except this time it was a green haze. Kiba quickly retreated with his hands over his nose. "Oh what is that awful smell? It reeks!"

Akamaru was whimpering as he too scratched his nose. Suddenly he knew what the smell was. He had just been marked as the property of a fox. It was the piss of a fox, but not just any fox. He turned his head when he heard a voice calling for him.

The ninken saw Ishiri poke his head out from a bush, unseen by the three Genin who were focused on the blond haired boy. Ishiri looked around before making eye contact with Akamaru. He lifted his eyebrows up and down as if it to make a joke before turning around and sticking his butt in the air and waving it around.

 _Stupid ninken._ Ishiri thought as he heard the growl from the white dog.

Embarrassed and infuriated, Akamaru took off towards his rival. He was not going to lose out to him for a third time.

"Huh? Hey Akamaru get back here," Kiba shouted before following him into the forest.

"Kiba don't. Annoying." Shino tried to stop his teammate, but it was no use. His attention was diverted further by a volley kunai. He jumped back, away from Hinata and was cut off from his teammate by a trio of Narutos.

"You're fight is with us now Shino," the front clone said before rushing at his opponent. The Aburame tried to send out his kikaichu but had to jump back and pull out his own kunai to block his opponent's.

"That haze, it was meant to slow my kikaichu wasn't it?" Shino pondered.

"Yep. And it seems to have worked," the clone answered back. He jumped at the Team Eight member before being hit in the chest by a swarm of bugs and popping.

"My bugs respond to more than smell," Shino responded calmly. "To over step your own measures I poured more chakra into them. Thus allowing them to shake off the effects of your gas."

The remaining two clones' eyes widened when they saw a swarm come from Shino's sleeves. Not pausing they began to rapidly run through hand signs.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Dancing Flame Jutsu!"

From one clone came a powerful blast of air while the other put a finger to his mouth as he breathed out a small line of fire that spun in a spiraling motion. The two jutsus combined with the flame spinning around the gust of wind, creating a column of fast moving air and spinning fire.

Shino was thrown back by the combination. His back hit a tree and he fell to the ground. Before he could react, another clone plopped on the ground next to him and took the bell that was at the bottom of his jacket.

"I'm sorry Shino," the clone said with clear remorse. "I didn't want to do that, but I had to."

Shino lifted his gaze, his face paling. In front of him was his colony of kikaichu, his partners, charred and lying on the ground. _No. My friends._

Kiba shouted for Akamaru to stop, but the ninken wouldn't listen. He followed the ninken through a bush before falling to the ground, wrapped up in wire. He wrestled on the ground before hearing a whimper. Lying next to him was his ninken, wrapped up in the same silver material as well.

"Don't worry Akamaru, we'll get out of this."

"I don't think so Kiba." The Inuzuka looked up to see Naruto holding up the bell that had ben hooked to his pants. "You're day is over. Catch you later. Pun intended." The clone smiled as he jumped back into the trees.

"Hey this isn't over," Kiba shouted, getting the attention of the clone.

The clone turned back and smiled. He took the bell and jingled it around. "You can't talk Kiba. You're dead." He turned and ran off.

Kiba huffed before looking at Akamaru. "No treat after dinner tonight. We also need to give you a bath."

Akamaru just whimpered some more. He was not going to be able to hide this from the other ninken.

Hinata jabbed, kicked and spun but could never land a hit. One clone had landed in front of her. Hinata was panting. He just kept coming.

She ducked a kick before spinning and trying a kick of her own, aiming it at her opponent's plant leg. Naruto did a quick jump to dodge before throwing up one of his hands. The hand caught under Hinata's wrist and sent the strike upwards, away from his chest. He threw a punch for Hinata to spin around it. She brought both arms up and intercepted a kick from the blond hair boy. Using chakra, she pushed him off.

Naruto landed in a crouched position. He looked to Hinata, who had assumed her Gentle Fist stance. He stood up and smirked.

Hinata paused when she saw Naruto stand up relaxed and a smile on his face. Her Byakugan couldn't pick up anything from the clone in front of her. She didn't understand why he was smiling before gasping. Against her neck was the sharpened edge of a kunai. She had been so focused on the clone she hadn't paid attention to the real Naruto that made his way behind her.

"It's over Hinata," he announced. "Give my clone the scroll containing the groceries and we'll take our leave."

"H-how do you know I have it Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with hesitation. She had heard something in his voice. The jovial ring he always had was gone. He had really taken her seriously and she couldn't even do anything.

"Akamaru jumped in front of you Hinata," Naruto began. "He jumped in front of you and not his master. That told me that you had something worth protecting." Naruto smelt something pass through his nose. _Lavender? Why haven't I smelled this before on Hinata? It smells . . . nice._

Hinata felt tears in her eyes, she wouldn't give up, not when she was facing Naruto. He would never do it so she wouldn't either. Taking a palm, she hit the kunai up, out of the grasp of a distracted Naruto. She spun around and sent a strike aimed for his shoulder.

Naruto caught the strike. Taking his right foot he put it quickly behind Hinata's own. Using his new leverage he flipped her over his shoulder. Hinata hit the ground on her back with a thud. She looked up to see the kunai she had hit seconds earlier caught and put back to her throat. She had lost. Naruto a knee on one of her arms and the other near her kunai pouch on her leg, she couldn't reach it even she wanted.

She looked up into his eyes whiles her's were quivering. They were cold. He had been ready to kill her if he had to and yet she couldn't even land a strike. "I-it's in m-my kunai p-pouch."

Naruto motioned with his head to his clone who went to the specified pouch. Reaching in he produced one scroll. After opening it and examining the scroll, the clone looked at Naruto and nodded.

Naruto sighed before reaching and grabbing the last bell that was hanging on the Hyuga's jacket. "I'm sorry Hinata," he said as he got off of her.

Hinata couldn't look at him as he vanished into the trees. Tears streamed down her cheeks. _I couldn't keep up. Shino-kun defeated a clone and Kiba-kun had to look after Akamaru. I had no excuse. Naruto-kun must thing I'm a failure like Otou-sama does._

•••••

"A little harsh there don't you think?" Ishiri questioned as he met up with Naruto just beyond their ambush spot.

Naruto looked down to the scroll and bell he had just obtained. He had to admit it didn't feel as good as he imagined it would. The look in Hinata's eyes were still flashing in his mind and it unsettled him.

"Anko-sensei taught me that the mission isn't over until your target is either dead or you're back home safe." Naruto looked at the Hinata's bell with melancholy. "They're dead so the mission is over and we can get this to the client."

"And that makes you feel good?" Ishiri asked with slight worry. He had heard about shinobi having to be tough but the way Naruto had chosen go after Hinata wasn't like him. It worried him.

"No, it doesn't," Naruto said as he wrapped his hand around the bell and returned the scroll to his pouch he kept on his hip. "Even imagining having to . . . to kill makes me want to puke. When I saw Hinata's eyes . . ."

"You ok Naruto?" Ishiri put his chin on Naruto's clenched hand and looked up at him.

Naruto took a deep breath in and exhaled before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah I'll be fine. Go ahead and return to the Library, I'll be there in a bit."

Naruto looked at Ishiri who simply shook his head. "Nah this is our mission. We see it through together."

Naruto looked back to the ground with a sad smile on. "Ok. Let's go."

•••••

Kurenai and Anko stood with the grocery store owner just outside his business. Kurenai looked worried, her team should have been back by now. Anko, on the other hand, was smiling leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed.

Kurenai gasped when a flash of orange dropped in front of the three waiting figures. There, crouched in front of them, was Naruto. Kurenai looked on as the whiskered boy picked his head up, a melancholy look in his eyes.

"Sensei," he said as he handed Anko the scroll.

"What happened to my team?" Kurenai finally piped up. Naruto opened up his other had to show three bells, one of which was a little burnt.

"They're ok. When you talk to Shino can you tell him I'm really sorry?" Naruto didn't get an answer except a flash of red and an empty spot the Jonin had once occupied.

Anko's smirk quickly died away when she took a better look at her charge. He looked like he had been put through the ringer and not the good kind. She quietly opened the scroll and unsealed the contents, giving them to the confused store owner.

"Come on gaki," Anko said as she motioned for Naruto to follow her. "I think this deserves some lunch. We'll even go to Ichiraku's."

Anko looked back to her charge and a stray dog that seemed to follow them. She gave the dog a knowing look and motioned it to vanish. The dog nodded before heading in another direction.

"What is gaki? I've never seen you this quiet," Anko said as she slowed down to match Naruto's pace.

"How do you deal with having to kill people Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked. He looked up to his sensei's chocolate brown eyes that had softened quite a bit from their usually harsher tint.

"And here I thought I wouldn't have this talk with you for a few years. You never make anything easy, do you maggot?" She sighed when she didn't get a remark back. "It's not fun, but it is a necessary requirement of our job. Everyone does it at least once in their careers. Sometimes you do it because you'll die if you don't, other times it is for a hit and still others might be an accident. I can tell you though; it is something you have to come to terms with. For me, it is the idea that if I don't then my opponent may kill my friends, those I care about."

Naruto thought about it more before finally smiling a bit. "Yeah that makes sense. I don't like the idea of killing someone but the idea of losing someone close to me is a lot worse."

"Come on maggot," Anko said with a smile. "We're here. Let's get something to eat." Anko smiled as she saw Naruto begin to devour his ramen. _He's a good kid._

•••••

"So how's Team Eight?" Anko said as Kurenai sat down at the table the purple haired Tokubetsu reserved for the entire weekend.

"Licking their wounds," Kurenai said with a sigh. "Shino's colony will rebuild in maybe a week, maybe two so he's on the sidelines till then. Kiba still smells whatever it is Naruto doused them with and Akamaru has been walking around depressed the entire time." She massaged her forehead when she thought about her last student. "Hinata is . . . devastated. She didn't talk the entire time during our debriefing. After our meeting she went off somewhere, who knows where. How's Naruto?"

"He was shook up a bit," Anko said as she made her first order of dango. "I had the 'first kill' talk with him. Never thought that gaki would have such a big soft spot for your brats."

"Wow the 'first kill' talk." Kurenai took a sip of her drink. "Any advice?"

"Be honest and get mentally ready. It isn't the most enjoyable experience."

Kurenai looked at the first plate of dango, it was piled high and she felt her wallet begin to hurt. "You knew Naruto would win. Didn't you?"

"One thing that this sensei business taught me: never bet against Uzumaki Naruto," Anko said as she took a big bite from her first stick. "Or you'll pay for it."

Kurenai sweat dropped. She had a feeling she would have first hand experience about that lesson and it would not be enjoyable.

•••••

Naruto was running along the trees just outside of Konoha. He was returning from a weekend with the Kitsune, a weekend he desperately needed. He had talked about the things that shook him up with the Kitsune elders. The talking had helped him, but what really helped him was the extra training.

He had spent the entire weekend with Suzuki going over fuinjutsu. His only breaks were to sleep, eat and an hour with Bruno and Ahri. After a few failed explosions Naruto finally learned how to make basic storage scrolls. They weren't anything fancy but he liked the new skill. Suzuki was impressed that Naruto had picked up on it so quickly and was excited to get into more complicated seals.

The sun was beginning to set when Naruto left with Ishiri right at his side. They kept running until Naruto suddenly stopped on a limb.

"What's up Naruto?" Ishiri asked as he landed next to his partner.

"Do you smell that?" Naruto asked.

Ishiri lifted his muzzle into the air and sniffed. He had a curious look before sniffing again. "Lavender? But it isn't that time of year. It shouldn't be blooming. What do you think it is?"

"I think I know what it is."

Ishiri followed Naruto as he jumped toward a clearing. They stopped short of the clearing. Naruto took a look to see Hinata hitting a stone pillar. She dropped to a knee but got back up and did it again. She continued until Naruto saw her close her eyes and fall backwards.

"Hinata!" Naruto called out. He rushed at the falling Hyuga.

•••••

 _Naruto-kun has worked so hard while I have just been crying and doing nothing. That changes today. I'm going to be stronger, I'm going to prove to Naruto I'm not a failure. I won't watch anymore, next time I'll be there with him._

Hinata hit the pillar again and again. She had been devastated by her performance but that only proved to fuel her fire. While Shino and Kiba went out to deal with the loss their own way, she trained. From morning to dusk she trained. She asked the few members of the Hyuga that would talk to her and when they couldn't she would go out and train on her own.

She went to a knee, gasping for air. She didn't know how long she had been out there. She had skipped lunch, not wanting to quit. She winced as she pushed herself back up onto her feet. She felt dizzy but shook her head. _Just a few more._

She took a deep breath before striking again, chakra coming out with each hit. She put it all into one final strike. She heard the sound of chakra expelling out. A faint smile played across her lips before she began to see spots. A step taken back turned into stumbling. She heard her named being called through the ringing of her ears before everything went black.

She felt warm when she came to. She moved about against something sturdy, but comfortable. She opened her eyes to burnt orange. Her face went red as her eyes moved slowly upwards until they came into contact with a blue gaze.

"Hey Hinata. Are you ok?" Naruto asked with a small smile on his face.

Hinata shook of her embarrassment. "Y-yeah I'm fine Naruto-kun. Just a li-little training." She tried to move but winced and fell back.

"Hey, hey, hey be careful," Naruto said. He caught her again. "You just passed out. You need to rest for a bit."

"I-I-I'm fine," Hinata squeaked out. She had to admit that she felt safe in his arms. She silently moved again before cursing herself. She wanted to prove she was strong, not be a damsel in distressed. "I'm n-not weak," she said as she looked away from his gaze.

"Of course you aren't," Naruto responded back with a smile. "With how hard you train you have to be getting stronger."

"But I couldn't even beat a clone," Hinata said sadly.

"It was an ambush. You weren't ready." Naruto adjusted Hinata so she was leaning back against one of the pillars. "I bet it would be different if we fought again. I mean if you work this hard I can't wait to see what you can do in a real mission." Naruto thought about it more before asking another question. "Why were you alone anyways?"

"No one else wanted to train any longer," she said sheepishly. "So I came out here."

Naruto sent her a beaming smile. "Well how about I train with you next time? I am always looking for a sparing partner."

Hinata blushed, a small smile forming. "I'd l-like that Naruto-kun." Her blush grew more when her stomach growled. She grabbed her stomach and looked down.

Naruto just smiled and laughed. "Have you gotten anything for dinner?" The Hyuga didn't look up when she shook her head. "Then how about we go get some ramen? We still haven't gone."

She looked and nodded with a smile. She tried to get up but slid back down. "I still can't walk. My legs are too sore."

Naruto turned and motioned to his back. "Then get on. We can go get some dinner and I'll take you back to your compound."

"A-are you sure Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Getting a nod she wrapped her arms around his neck as he grabbed her legs and hoisted her up. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the musky smell that he exuded. The smell made her happy and she felt comfortable when she nuzzled her cheek into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his steady breathing, not wanting the moment to end.


	11. Out on the Road

**Hey guys! I am back with another chapter and I am really excited about this one. This chapter basically outlines the first C-ranked mission taken by Naruto and Anko. If you are confused, or angry, that I made up a random ass village, I didn't. I used Narutopedia to find this specific village from a novel about the Naruto universe. So, if you're confused, take a look at it on that website. The medicine is also something in that same novel. As I said before, this chapter basically outlines the beginnings of the mission and I wanted to show the relationship between Anko and Naruto as a duo. I want to grow that relationship since** **Karachi, IMO, didn't have that great a relationship with Naruto until later on. Sorry I am rambling.**

 **As always, please please please review this chapter if you feel so compelled to. Tell me your likes, dislikes, critiques, advice on how to improve my writing or just your thoughts in general. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 11**

Naruto stood by Anko, nearly jumping up and down. The only thing stopping him was the occasional glance Anko would give him as if to say 'relax'. In front of the duo was Sarutobi Hiruzen. He looked at the pair before looking down at a scroll.

"Ah yes. Anko and Naruto-kun," he said as he peered at a scroll of missions. "Well it doesn't look like Tora has escaped again. What would you think of putting a fence up for a farmer in a nearby village who has been having trouble with his cattle? It will be a good way to train with your shadow clones Naruto-kun."

"No way! That's a D-ranked, let someone else have that mission," Naruto shouted in defiance. "Give it to Kiba. Maybe he'll be able to smell again afterwards."

"Naruto how dare you go against the Hokage," Iruka said as he shot up from his seat. "We are ninja of Konoha and therefore under the command of the Hokage and the missions he gives us are final."

"But Anko-sensei said we could if I beat Team Eight," Naruto pointed out.

"Ah yes we did get an interesting report from the grocer about that particular mission," Hiruzen said as he furrowed his eyes. "I don't think he appreciated his mission being used as a game. Would you care to explain Anko?"

"Hai Hokage-sama," Anko said with seriousness before smirking and relaxing. "Kurenai needed a way to test her team and she thought Naruto would be the best way to test them. Tracker versus trackers. Seems my gaki was a little too much for them. I promised him that we would take a C-ranked mission if he won. I wouldn't have agreed to it unless I thought he was ready. After his performance Thursday I am ready to take Uzumaki Naruto into the field."

Hiruzen sat back in his seat. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him as he thought about the scenario. Reports from Asuma and Kakashi, along with Ibiki and others within the T&I Division, would support Anko's belief. Still, allowing a Genin with only a single Jonin to go on a C-ranked, while fairly safe, was not the ideal situation. _We would need to keep him in allied territories to further ensure his safety and that of Anko as well._ Hiruzen smirked as a mission came to mind. _It is about that time isn't it?_

He opened his eyes and reached for the scroll that contained the C-ranked missions. His eyes danced through the scroll until he came to the mission, which was further down the list.

"Yes it seems I have the perfect mission for young Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said. He lifted his hand to stop any argument from Iruka. He looked to the young Uzumaki who was smiling from ear to ear. "The hospital is in need of medicine. A specific medicine only found in Rokoku no Sato. The medicine is called Kotaro and is used to treat the more violent illnesses among both the shinobi and civilian population."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto said as he waved his hand in the air. "Just get to the important stuff." He was immediately sent into the ground by the snake mistress he called sensei.

"Oi that is the important stuff gaki," Anko said as she calmed down and straightened up. "Sorry for the interruption Hokage-sama. Continue."

Hiruzen chuckled as he saw the blond hair boy stand up and dust himself off. "Yes, quite right. The hospital has a continuous order with the Kodon Clan of Rokoku. It seems that the time has come to send a team to retrieve the medicine. Although it is still early, I believe this will be a good mission. Rokoku has been neutral for years, but still provides medicine to all those willing to pay. Your mission is to get the medicine and get back. Is that clear?"

"Hai Hokage-sama," Anko and Naruto said in unison. With a slight bow, the student-sensei team walked out.

Once outside the Tokubetsu got the attention of the exuberant Genin. "Ok maggot, we got our marching orders. You will meet me at the Northern Gate in an hour fully prepared for the mission. You know what to pack, right gaki?"

"Hai sensei," Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "An extra pair of clothes, kunai, shuriken, wire and sleeping materials with food rations."

Anko patted his head, content with his answer. "Well what do you know? You can teach a stubborn fox new tricks." She chuckled when she saw Naruto glare back. "Alright gaki. You got an hour. Go."

Anko looked on before turning to a figure that came around the side of the building. Umino Iruka looked on with a worried expression as Naruto ran off to his apartment complex. He huffed before finally setting his eyes on Anko.

"What is it Umino?" Anko asked with as much venom as one of her vipers.

"Be careful out there."

Anko snarled before turning her back to the Chunin. "I've been on these types of missions before Umino. Naruto is up for the challenge and so am I."

"Those were your words last time," Iruka said as his eyes never left the purple haired kunoichi.

Anko, herself, went rigid. She stopped in her tracks before turning her head slightly. "That was a long time ago. Things change." Without another word Anko shunshinned away.

Iruka looked at the area once held by the Tokubetsu. "I hope you're right Anko-chan."

•••••

Anko waited patiently, looking at a clock hanging by the guard station at the Northern Gate. "Gaki should be getting here in three . . . two . . . o-" she was interrupted by a thud next to her. She sighed before turning and seeing Naruto slide down the wall. She hit her forehead with her palm. "What did I tell you about the shunshin gaki?"

Naruto brought is head up. He shook it a little and placed a hand on the top of his head to stabilize himself. "Practice in an open field."

"Does this look like an open field?" Anko asked as she waved her hand around. "Let me answer that for you: it isn't."

"But I almost had it that time," Naruto shot back.

"Were you aiming to land next to me?" Anko asked. Getting a nod she just shook her head. "You missed by twenty feet. That isn't 'almost' maggot."

"Well at least it was closer," Naruto muttered. His head still rang like a bell. During his small amount of free time he had been practicing the shunshin. He had seen ANBU members do it to get in and out of the Intelligence Division and immediately asked for training in the skill. Anko had been reluctant at first, wanting to get easier to use techniques down first, but relented when she realized she wasn't going to win the battle. Naruto had gone to the hospital that night with a minor concussion but was up the next morning, ready for more practice and training.

Anko took another look at her charge, her blood beginning to boil. "Maggot! Where are your supplies? Dammit gaki, it was a simple order," she yelled at the blond haired boy. She had planned on using the packing as a teaching moment but now it seemed they would have to waste even more time.

"What are you talking about sensei?" Naruto looked confused. He reached behind him and unclasped two scrolls. He looked at them again before showing his sensei. "I have everything right here."

Anko groaned. She was going to make a comment but turned around when she heard the guards begin to chuckle. "Silence or I'll make sure his first interrogation is on one of you two and the other one will be stuck with me." She turned when she saw the paled faces of the guards. She grunted and pointed to the open gate. "We got a lot to talk about but we can do it on the road. Let's go."

Naruto didn't waste time and was out the gate like a prized racehorse at the start of a race, his smile almost as bright as the sun that shined above him. Anko just looked on before shaking her head and giving chase. _Gaki's got to learn to take is slowly._ She quickly caught up to the blond haired boy. "You realize it will take us about four to five days to reach our destination?"

"Hai sensei but why not get there faster so we can get another mission sooner?" Naruto asked before increasing his speed and his enthusiasm.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Anko asked as she went to the trees, keeping up with her student. Not realizing he had stopped, she passed a branch and ran right into Naruto. The duo fell off the tree. They hit the ground and were enveloped in a dust cloud. "Alright gaki, you aren't taking lead anymore," Anko said as she picked herself off.

Naruto laughed. He threw a hand behind his head and gave her his fox-like grin. "Sorry Anko-sensei. Guess I got a little excited."

"Yeah well at least this gives us a chance to relax a bit and talk," Anko said as she sat herself against the trunk of a tree.

"Talk about what?" Naruto was confused. About the only thing he could think about were the directions to their destination but even then there wasn't much to talk about. Just point themselves in a direction and go until they hit the village. Right?

"For starters those scrolls." Anko pointed to the scrolls that were attached to the boy's hip. Naruto looked down at them and back to his sensei.

"What about them?"

"When did you learn to use sealing scrolls?" Anko asked as she pulled out a scroll from her bag and proceeded to seal her backpack into the small scroll. She opened her trench coat to reveal three other scrolls, hidden away from unwanted eyes. She reached in and placed the fourth among the others. "That was going to be a lesson during our mission."

Naruto shrugged. "Suzuki-sensei taught it to me this last weekend. After a couple of failed attempts I finally got it down." Naruto winced as he remembered a few of the explosions he had caused. Ishiri was still complaining about how he still had some ink in his fur.

Anko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've got to meet these fox sensei of yours. They're ruining all my plans."

"I don't know," Naruto said skeptically. "Luna-sama doesn't trust many people. I don't know if she'd care much for that."

"Well next time you learn a new trick you tell me. Get it?"

"Got it." Naruto nodded. Seemed easy enough.

"Ok any new skills you've got? I don't want to be fried by a lightening jutsu or buried under a ton of rocks." Getting a shake of the head, she got up. Satisfied with her student she began to walk. "Alright we'll start walking at a slower pace."

"What?" Naruto shrieked. "You can't be serious! That will take forever. I want to get this mission done with so I can go on another one."

Anko put a hand up to silence any further complaining. "That's enough gaki, you're embarrassing yourself. This isn't a track or a search and rescue. We know where we are going and we got an additional week because we took this mission earlier than usual. So, with that said, we will take it slowly and enjoy ourselves." Seeing Naruto was about to explode she continued on. "Tell me gaki: what would happen if we went full steam ahead and, after running for four days straight, come into a fight?"

Naruto was about to answer with gusto before realizing he would fall right into her trap. He crossed his arms in front of him and looked at the ground. After a bit he finally answered. "Well we'd probably be tired, our chakra may be low and we wouldn't have enough time to prepare for them because we'd be going to fast."

"Good to see that run in with the wall left some brain cells," Anko answered with a smile on her face. "Correct. That is why a squad travels at a more leisurely pace when the mission isn't urgent. With that said, we are retrieving medicine, something that could save lives, so we will still be running at times and walking at others."

Anko began to walk and heard Naruto scramble around before joining her. The pair walked on in silence through the forest outside of Konoha before Anko finally spoke up.

"Alright gaki, what is it?" Naruto only responded with another look of confusion. "I can smell the smoke coming out of your ears. What is it that has that mind of yours going that fast?"

"Well the medicine for starters," Naruto offered. "I thought the Nara Clan used antlers from deer in their clan forest for medicine. It doesn't make sense that we are going to get medicine when we have a great supply barely outside of Konoha."

"Good to see you're taking your studies seriously gaki. Maybe I'll quiz you on the Yamanaka next," Anko said with a chuckle. "You are right but there are different medicines for different illnesses. Medicine is a tool for a doctor like a kunai is for a ninja. We don't go into battle with just a single kunai and a doctor can't do his or her job right with just one type of medicine."

"Well what does this stuff do anyways?" Naruto asked.

"Beats me gaki," Anko said with a shrug. "I'm an interrogator not a med-nin. All I know it that our mission is to pick up this medicine so those med-nin can save lives. That is all that matters. We are doing good gaki, be satisfied with that."

With a nod of the head, Naruto joined his sensei. The pair walked along their route, ocassionally breaking off into a run. They stopped for dinner, finding a nice clearing. Anko pulled out food and cooking utensils from one of her scrolls. After Naruto had gone to get water they finally ate.

"So tell me gaki," Anko said before diving into some of the noodles she had prepared. "Why become a ninja? Why not choose another type of job?"

"Because my dream is become Hokage some day," Naruto shouted with enthusiasm.

"Yes, we have been over that," Anko pointed. "But why that goal? Why Hokage?"

Naruto's smile faltered for a second as his eyes dropped. He stayed in silence before sighing. "Because I want to be recognized for more than just a pest the village sees me as," he said as he played with his food. "I never knew who my parents were and for as long as I could remember there was no one besides Jiji that cared enough to treat me as a person. When I would occasionally walk through the village with him I noticed I didn't get any glares, none. Everyone we passed looked on Jiji like he was the greatest thing since ramen. I figured it was because it was his position and being one of the strongest ninja alive, so I made that my goal. I want to better than the rest of the Hokage, even the Yondaime. I want people to recognize me as the best, to recognize me as a person rather than a piece of trash."

Anko slurped at her noodles. She stared into the empty bowl before huffing. "Stupid."

"What was that?" Naruto barked.

"I said your goal was stupid," she answered back without a stutter.

"Hey that is my dream! And I will become Hokage and be recognized by the entire world. Dattebayo!" He jumped up and pumped his fist in the air to accentuate his point.

"Who cares about what other's think?" Anko looked to Naruto who finally went silent. Deciding this was her best time to carry on her thoughts, she continued. "Those people who mean nothing to you, who are only faces in the crowd, does their opinion really matter? To them you are just a name connected with a face. They don't actually know you, your struggles, what you've had to endure. Why should their opinion matter? Tell me, maggot, who's opinion truly matters? Would it hurt more if Sarutobi Hiruzen called you those names the civilians do or just some schmuck you never knew?"

Naruto's face turned downcast, his blue eyes losing their shine. He had never thought what it would be like to here that from his Jiji. Could even handle it? "It would hurt more coming from the old man," Naruto muttered.

"That's because he actually means something to you. He has actually been a part of your life. He knows you for you. You got to stop caring about the opinion of others. Your reputation is what people see you as, your character is who you actually are. Those people who care, who take time to get to know Uzumaki Naruto will see your character and not your reputation. Those are the people whose opinion matters kid." Anko turned back to her supplies, getting them organized before sealing them back into her scroll. She was about to stand when she heard a question.

"What do you think of me sensei?" She turned to see Naruto gazing up at her with his deep blue eyes, a hint of concern laced in them.

"Psh, you're stubborn, loud-mouthed, reckless and a knucklehead." She paused before continuing on. "You're also a hard worker, a good kid, a better student and one hell of a shinobi."

"Thanks sensei," Naruto said with a slight smile on his face. "That means a lot."

"Don't mention it," Anko said as she ruffled his hair. "No literally, don't mention it or I'll feed you to my snakes. Get it?"

"Got it," Naruto said with a nod and a smile.

"Good. A girl has to keep her reputation up. Can't be letting my prisoners think I'm going soft."

•••••

Naruto gazed up at the stars above him, his mind racing a mile a minute. It had been an amazing four days on the road with his sensei. They were about another day's walk out of the Rokoku by Anko's estimations. They had traveled and talked about Naruto's life growing up, his likes and dislikes and what his training would entail going forward. But there was one question he had never gotten to ask.

"Sensei?" he whispered as he rolled over and peered over the burnt logs that was their campfire. The pale moonlight shone on the sleeping form of the Tokubetsu.

"Hmm?" Anko hummed as she rolled over, out of her dreams. She opened her eyes groggily, blinking them to get rid of her blurred vision. "Oi what is gaki? Your clones pick up some kind of movement?"

Naruto shook his head. "No sensei. It has been silent all night."

Anko growled as she flopped on her back. "You'd better have a good reason for waking me up then gaki." She turned her head and lowered a cold glare on her student. "What is it?"

"Why did you become a ninja?"

Anko blinked a few times, her mind not quite registering the question. "Say that again?"

"Well you asked me why I chose to become a ninja," Naruto said as looked back up to the star lit canopy. "You never answered yourself. So I want to know: why did you become a ninja?"

Anko, now fully awake, turned her own gaze to the stars above her purple hair. She stayed silent for a bit as thoughts ran through her head before she finally came up with an answer that satisfied her. "For nights like these."

"For night like these?" Naruto repeated her words with confusion.

Anko nodded her head. "I was a little like you gaki. I was a rebel, not really liking being around others. When I heard about the life lived by ninja it was appealing. A lot of solo missions, independent and gets to travel a lot. Sounded perfect for me, but I found out it wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

"How so?"

Anko sighed before turning back over, facing away from her student. "You'll learn quickly, maggot, that no one can do it all by themselves."

•••••

Naruto looked around as he followed his sensei through a dense forest. They had been climbing a mountain that was covered with trees for the entire day. He was about to speak when Anko put a hand up and into a fist, indicating for him to stop and be silent. He felt himself go rigid and he did a quick scan. He didn't see anything. He couldn't pick up any significant smells or sounds.

He looked on as Anko dropped to the ground. She looked up to me and smirked. "Come on gaki, out of the trees," she said.

Naruto nodded before dropping down next to her. The duo walked through the forest a little ways before coming to a road. Without pause Anko kepy walking along the path. Naruto felt an uneasy sensation wash over him. The path was darkened by the late night shadows cast by the setting sun, which barely shown behind the daunting figure of the mountain they were on.

Naruto stopped when he saw his sensei was looking at something. His eyes moved from the forest to where his sensei was looking. He silently gasped at what he saw. A grey gate was over the road. On either side was the form of a howling wolf. At the top of the gate, in the middle, was a statue of the moon with three claw marks dragged across it as if a large animal attacked it.

He stared up as he walked on. On the other side of the gate was a slight hill. The duo walked up the small hill before looking down. Naruto's eyes lit up when the bustling village came into view. Lights were turned on and the smell of food ran through the air. The setting sun in the background of the village took his breath away. He could get use to traveling.

"Come on gaki," Anko said from a ways in front of him. "The store is probably closed. We are going to get a room at the inn after we grab a bite to eat. Let's move it."

Neither sensei or student noticed as four figures dropped down from the tree line just outside the gate. The figures rose with wicked smiles gracing their lips.

"So sensei, when can we kill them?" one figure asked as it watched the duo disappear into the village.

"Patience. We have to wait for them to leave the village, but it will all be worth it," the largest figure said. "Trust me. Those Konoha scum will be well worth the wait . . ."


	12. Flirting with Danger

**Hey guys! Been a while since I updated but I am really, really excited about this chapter. First off, before I get ripped, I want to say that I am not making a rival for Hinata, this is NaruHina all the way. I just wanted to point out Naruto is oblivious in a way that could be funny. I really hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **Please review! If you have likes, dislikes, advice on how I can improve my writing style or just thoughts in general, please review. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 12**

Naruto walked around Rokoku no Sato with a smile on his face and a stick of cotton candy in his hand. Next to him was Anko with her own stick of dango. Naruto looked around to the various stands and shops. His smile was returned with vigor by the people of the village. He felt like he was actually wanted and wasn't a burden to anybody. His ears picked up on something.

He followed the soft ting to a stand and line. He peered around the line to see people trying to throw small rings onto glass bottles. He peered up to see a sign saying the game was 3 ryo for 5 throws. He looked behind the counter to see prizes lining the wall.

"See anything you like gaki?" Anko asked. He looked up to see the purple haired Tokubetsu leaning around like he was.

Naruto looked back. There were a lot of plush toys, small trinkets and treats. He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing in particular. Just a lot of toys and stuff. Nothing really stands out."

"Well what about that little orange fox?" Anko asked as she pointed to a small fox that was on one of the top shelves. "Caught you hanging out with that Hyuga girl from Kurenai's team." She nudged him playfully. "Bet you she'd like it. It would be appropriate to." Anko laughed as Naruto turned red.

He shook his head. "It was just dinner." His eyes went back to the little plush fox as he thought more about it. "You really think she'll like it?"

"Well why don't you get it and find out?"

"But I don't even know when her birthday is and the holidays aren't coming for a while," Naruto pointed out.

"So?" Anko asked. She wasn't seeing the issue.

"So? People don't just give you something out of the blue do they?"

Anko sighed as she palmed her forehead. The kid could learn a new jutsu like no one else but when it came to personal interactions he was as clueless as Might Guy's fashion sense. "She's a friend isn't she?" She got a confused nod. "Is she a good friend?"

Naruto looked down and thought about it long and hard. If he really admitted it then Hinata was one of the only friends he had. Shikamaru and Choji didn't out right out hate him, they maybe even liked him. He could tell Ino put up with him because he helped with missions. He could never tell about Shino or Sai, Kiba was a rival if anything. He didn't care for Sasuke and Sakura was just annoyed with him. Outside of Jiji, Anko, Iruka and the T&I Division, Hinata was his best friend.

"Yeah she is," he answered.

"Then you can give her a gift whenever you feel like it," she responded. "You went with her to dinner, and can whenever you want to, then why can't you get her a gift?" Inwardly Anko smirked. Granted she didn't coo like Kurenai did when the pair was seen at Ichiraku's, but she liked seeing him with kids his age. "Come on. She'll like it."

Naruto batted Anko's hand away as she shook his hair. "Alright, alright. I'll give it a try. Back off." Naruto walked up to the front of the line. He looked up to a burly man who stared down at him. "C-can I give it a try?" he asked as he slid three ryo across the counter.

The man bellowed, his laughter making the table shake a tiny bit. "Don't worry kid," the man said with a beaming smile. "I won't bite ya." He playfully took a bite out of the air in front of him making the blond lean backwards. "Sure kid, give it a try."

Naruto watched as the man pushed five tiny rings in front of him. He grabbed one and looked ahead of him. In front of him was a sea of glass bottles. He stuck his tongue the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. The stand owner's chuckles turned into disbelief as the whiskered boy nailed all five throws. He looked dumbly back to the blond.

"Ok kid. What do you want?" He followed Naruto's pointing finger to the small plush fox. "You realize that is for three rings right kid? You can have nearly anything on the top shelf."

"I know but I just want that one," Naruto answered. The stand owner shrugged as he handed the Genin his winnings. "Thank you," Naruto said with a slight bow. He walked back to smirking Anko. "What?"

"Oh nothing," she said as the two walked on. She turned to see a small figure watching them from the line of the stand. _Kid's gonna be a heart breaker later in life._ She chuckled as she shook her head. "Come on we got to get going. It's late and we need to get up early." Naruto just nodded as the duo went to a inn and got a room.

•••••

Naruto rubbed his eyes as the pair trudged through the streets of Rokoku. Anko had been right, it was certainly an early morning. He hadn't realized the pair had been out that late the previous night until he was rudely awakened by the movement of a snake under his sheets.

"Come gaki. Look alive," Anko said with enthusiasm made to annoy the Genin. And it worked.

Naruto grunted as he trudged onwards. "Easy for you to say," he answered back. "You didn't get woken up by a snake running up and down your legs.

Anko shrugged. "Hey I told you to take it easy with that cotton candy kid. You shouldn't have had that third stick. All that sugar is what you should be complaining about." She chuckled as his only response was a grunt. She continued on before stopping in front of a building. "Ok, here we are."

Naruto looked up to see a run down building with a sign that read 'Kodon Medicine and Herbs' in chipped, black letters. "We are suppose to buy medicine from a place like this?" Naruto asked as he pointed up at the building. "This place makes my apartment look like a palace."

"Rule #5 gaki," Anko said dryly as she entered the business.

"Never underestimate an opponent," Naruto groaned as he followed his sensei into the building. His eyebrows rose when he entered. Inside was a clean, well kept shop. Along one wall were jars of various herbs and pastes. Across from the jars were wrappings, gauze, bandages and other materials to dress a wound. On the other side of the dirty windows was the counter. Behind the counter were more jars of herbs, more expensive than the other shelves, and a sign that read off prices of various medicines.

The store clerk, who was flipping through a magazine, looked up when he heard the ring of the bell on the door. "Ah hello Konoha-san," he said when he noticed the hitai-ate worn by his newest customers. "We weren't expecting you for another week."

Anko raised her hand to assure him there was no harm done. "No worries. This was a chance to take the gaki here out of the town for a bit. We were happy to take the mission a little early."

"Ah so you must be a Jonin sensei," the man surmised. "So where are your other students?"

Anko shook her head as she took a look at the various antidotes they sold. "Just one. Naruto is my apprentice. Quite a selection of antidotes you have here."

The man walked out from behind the counter. He walked up next to the snake mistress and nodded his head. "Ah yes. Someone who knows what good selection actually is." He noticed that Anko had taken a specific interested in a set of jars. "Antidotes for poisons. We have them ranging from arsenic, to venom and other poisons commonly found in a shinobi's line of work."

"Yes, very usefull," Anko said as she turned her attention to the clerk. "But I am not in the market for antidotes at the moment. Can we please have our order?"

The man smiled some more as he turned back and motioned for the duo to join him. "Yes of course," he said as he nodded. "Four cases of both our Johin and Chuhin Kotaro. We are always happy to sell to Konoha. Your hospital has always been one of our best customers. Keiko could you please come out here?"

There was a crash and a bang before a door that was to the side of the counter swung open to reveal a brown haired girl. She wore her hair in a ponytail that fell to just past her shoulders. She looked around before Naruto noticed her brown eyes that seemed to twinkle when they fell on him. She wore black ninja pants with matching sandals. She wore a white shirt that hugged her young features. She quickly messed with her hitai-ate, that was skewed, before walking up to them.

"Hi I'm Kodon Keiko," she said as she stuck her hand out to Naruto. "But you can call me KK."

"Um hi," Naruto said as he shook the girl's hand with a confused look on his face. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto looked to her hitai-ate to see three diagonal slashes on the piece of metal. "Are you a ninja?"

"Yep," she beamed as she said it. "I'm a Genin, but I've never gone on an actual mission." Her features drooped at the statement but did a quick 180. "But I bet you've gone on a ton!"

Naruto looked between the ecstatic girl and his smirking sensei. "But I thought Rokoku was a neutral country. How can they have shinobi?"

"Ah maybe I can answer that." Naruto's eyes moved to the clerk who was smiling at the young Genin. "Allow me to introduce myself Uzumaki-san. I am Kodon Ken, you have already met my daughter Keiko-chan. While we are a neutral country, we keep a standing army to protect our borders and keep the peace in our lands. We normally do not take missions that take us out of our village and those that do are usually to protect our dignitaries who go to sell different goods in other markets. Does that make sense?"

"Hai Kodon-san," Naruto said with a nod. "Thank you for explaining it to me."

"Ah you have taught him well," Ken said with a smile. "Very polite. Keiko-chan, why don't you take Uzumaki-san to the back to pick up their order while I write it up for his sensei."

"Hai Tou-san," Keiko nearly shouted. She grabbed the orange clad ninja's hand, and before Naruto knew it, was running through the door behind the counter.

"She's a ball of energy," Anko said with a smirk.

"Hai she is," Ken said as he walked behind the counter. "She is impressed by shinobi from other villages, but this is the first time she has interacted with one her age. She kind of got carried away."

"Ya think?" Anko said with a chuckle. _Oh well. Maybe the gaki will learn a thing or two back there._

•••••

Naruto groaned as he picked himself up from the ground. He had been pulled around a corner before coming into a collision with a stack of boxes. He pushed a box off of him and shook the dirt off. He turned when he heard giggling coming from his side.

Keiko was standing there with a hand in front of a smile with her cheeks brushed a faint pink. "Sorry about that. I got a little excited." She took his hand again and led him slowly to another backroom. Inside the room were more containers split into three groups.

"Wow," Naruto said, looking at jar upon jar of the medicine. "You guys take medicine seriously."

"We sure do," Keiko said with a smile on her face. She was obviously proud about the supply. "My clan is world renowned for our medicine. I was even taught to make it before I became a Genin."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "Can you show me?"

Keiko just smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, family secret. But I can tell you that we use herbs only found on Howling Wolf Mountain. That's partly why it is so rare."

"Must be cool to have a family technique like that though," Naruto said softly.

Keiko shrugged her shoulders. Her excitement was curved as well. "I suppose. There is some stuff that is great about it, it gives me stuff to talk about with my cousins, but it can also be a pain. I haven't been a part of a ninja team or even left the village. I pretty much just make medicine and keep care of the shop when it's our turn." Her expression quickly brightened. "But your life must be really exciting. I mean you get to go out on real missions and actually get to learn different jutsus!"

Naruto just smiled as he put a hand behind his head. "Yeah you could say that. I work really hard to get better."

"Yeah I saw you last night. You were able to get that ring toss game down so easily," Keiko said. "I've never been able to win at that stupid game."

Naruto chuckled. "Thanks." He thought about it a second before something clicked. "You were watching me last night?!"

Keiko looked up from the case she was packing. Her face turned red as she thought about an excuse. "Well, I mean I was in the same line when you were. I didn't follow you or anything. I mean it is kind of hard to not notice something like that." She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Naruto seemed to buy the excuse.

The pair stayed in silence as Keiko finished packing the medicine. "So," she said awkwardly. "How is it being a shinobi from Konoha?"

"It's a lot of hard work, but I get to meet a lot of interesting people and work with other teams," Naruto said with a smile. "This is the first time I've been outside of Hi no Kuni, but Anko-sensei says that we'll get to go back out if this mission goes well."

"Really?!" Keiko nearly shouted before averting her eyes and clearing her throat. "I mean that sounds great. Do you know if you'll ever be back Naruto . . . kun?" Keiko looked out of the corner of her eyes to see his reaction.

Naruto didn't even seem to notice the honorific added to his name as he answered the question. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'll ever get this mission again." Keiko's shoulders immediately slumped but quickly perked up. "But if I do come back we should hang out or something."

"Like dinner and maybe walk around the village and play games?" Keiko asked excitedly.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure it was fun last night."

Keiko was about to jump for joy as the door opened. "Keiko-chan, are you done?" Ken asked as he walked in with Anko following behind him.

"Hai Tou-san," Keiko said as she motioned to the eight cases. "We're just about to seal them away."

The sealing went quickly. Keiko watched in excitement as Naruto ran through the process rather quickly. They said their goodbyes, Anko trying desperately to keep from bursting out into laughter as Keiko hugged a shocked Naruto.

The duo turned a corner before Anko nudged her student. "So that went well," she said with a playful tone in her voice.

"Yeah. Went off without a hitch," Naruto said, not getting the jab. "Keiko does good work and quickly too." He looked over to his sensei who was stifling back laughter. "What?"

Anko took a deep breath before continuing. "Oh nothing, nothing at all. So what did you two talk about?" Anko really wanted to see where this was going.

Naruto shrugged. "She asked me a lot about being a shinobi of Konoha. She seemed really excited about the idea of me taking the mission again though. She got even happier when I suggested going to dinner and hanging out."

Anko couldn't take it anymore. She doubled over as she howled. She grabbed her sides before placing a hand on her knee and tryed to calm her breathing. "Oh Kami that was great." She wiped a tear off her cheek before bursting into more laughter. "Oh gaki, we have got to teach you how to talk to kunoichi. Holy shit that was great."

"I don't get it," Naruto said. He furrowed his brows when his sensei continued to laugh.

Anko finally calmed down and patted him on the back. "We'll work on your social skills later. I'll tell you this though: you aren't interrogating any kunoichi anytime soon."

Naruto just continued to walk next to the purple haired Tokubetsu. _Girls are weird._

•••••

The pair walked along the path leading outside of the village. The noon sun bathing the path in light and warmth, but Naruto could only feel cold darkness. Since leaving Rokoku he had a feeling of dread, like something was coming. He could feel a growl come from his gut. He couldn't place it, the weird feeling seemed to reverberate throughout his body.

Finally his fears and feelings had evidence to back them up. The smell of herbs and wood were quickly over taken. He opened his ears and could hear the breathing and slight movements around the path. He looked up and could see a choke point, the path leading into a small valley with high walls on either side.

"Anko-sensei," he said quietly. "We have an issue."

"You sense them too aye?" Anko asked as she kept her eyes forward. "How many? Can you tell anything?"

"Hai, four with an earthy scent," Naruto said. "Two to our one o'clock, one low in a bush and another on a tree limb. The other two are to our 10, both behind rocks above the path."

"Want to start this off for us?" Anko asked as she began to look around.

Naruto reached for his pouch. "Gladly," he shouted and flung a kunai at the rocks above the path. The kunai exploded and rained down rocks on the path before more explosions ensued. Not pausing, he turned to his right and threw more exploding kunai. The surrounding trees exploded into a small fire before four figures jumped in front of the duo.

A large man toward the middle began to chuckle. "Ah so you aren't as clueless as you look," the man said. He stood tall with a bulky build and hard features. He wore red pants with a red undershoot which had a long sleeve on the left arm and no sleeve on the right. On top of the red undershirt was a brown flak jacket that covered his torso and straps along his color bones.

The other three wore the same outfit but the shinobi were significantly smaller and skinnier. One was a girl with her black hair in a bun and two bangs that framed her face. Another young man had green eyes with short brown hair. The last young man was bald with a scar running across the top of his head. All four had a red hitai-ate with two rocks on the steel.

"Osuushi of the Rock," Anko said with a hiss in her voice. "What an unpleasant surprise."

"Ah it seems my reputation precedes me," the large man said with a smirk on his face. "Konoha shinobi knowing my name. I feel honored." He raised his hand to his heart and feigned surprise.

"An A-ranked Jonin who survived the Flash always has a place in our Bingo Books," Anko said through gritted teeth. This was not what they needed. She could barely keep up Kakashi. She couldn't imagine what this fight would be like. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and my team are here to take supplies back to Iwa," Osuushi said with a smirk on his face. "All we need to do is pick them up."

"You want the medicine, don't you?" Naruto asked.

"Ah so the brat finally speaks," the girl to her sensei's left spoke. "A small twerp to be taking a C-ranked mission aren't you?"

"How do you know so much about our mission?" Naruto barked back as he took a kunai out and steadied it in front of him.

"This isn't exactly an S-ranked secret Naruto," Anko answered for the whiskered boy. "They've probably known about this mission for a while. Got to ask though, why now?"

Osuushi scoffed, but decided to answer. "Iwa has been financially strapped for a while since the Third Great Shinobi War. We had to cut a few here and there but we still need medicine."

"So why not take it from a few unsuspecting Konoha-nin?" Anko finished his thought.

"You tree huggers aren't so dumb after all," the bald Chunin stated. "But your mission, and your lives, end here."

"Naruto." The Genin's eyes traveled to his peripheral vision where his sensei stood. "Take the package and head North. Take the ridge of the mountain range, you should hit Hi no Kuni in about three days. Don't stop until you hit an ANBU outpost. I'll make a distraction."

"No," Naruto said sternly. "We fight as a team. I'm not going to leave."

"Dammit gaki," Anko growled. "The mission comes first. Our goal is to get the package and return. That is exactly what you are going to do."

"New mission: we both make it out alive, as a team," Naruto retorted back.

"Are you two done yet? I'm quite bored," the ninja with the short brown hair said. "I want to be on my way home in an hour."

"You'll be going home in a body bag," Anko shouted as she finally sprang at the bored shinobi. She was stopped mid air by a flying piece of rock. She hit a tree with a thud and groaned when she finally got up. She looked up to see she was cut off from her student. "Shit."

"Nope you're fight is with me," Osuushi said as he leisurely walked forward. He took a peak over at the fight that broke out between their subordinates. "It seems the rumors were true."

"What rumors?" Anko hissed.

The Iwa-nin chuckled. "Doesn't matter. But I will finally get some pay back for the last war." He took a peak to see the Tokubetsu's confused look. "Oh you didn't know? Priceless."

"Inform me," Anko said as she stood on shaky legs. She was trying to buy some time for her to recover from the blind-sided hit.

"Doesn't matter," Osuushi said before running through a sequence of hand seals. "Earth Release: Pillars of the Earth Jutsu."

"Ninja Art: Striking Shadow Snakes!"

•••••

"Sensei," Naruto cried out as Anko flew through the air before colliding with a tree. He started toward her before having to jump back to dodge a kunai. He looked up to see the female of the group standing in his way. He backed up when he saw the others begin to circle him.

"Awe, what's wrong?" the girl began. "Is the little ninja scared without his sensei by his side? Don't worry, we'll bury you next to her." The Iwa-nin's hands went flying before finally stopping. "Earth Release: Earth Shuriken Jutsu!"

Naruto felt the ground rumble before projectiles seemed to shoot out of the ground like they came from a cannon. Naruto rushed through his own set of hand seals. "Wind Release: Air Bullet." His chest expanded before he launched three bursts of air. Each burst collided with a slab of earth, creating an explosion of dirt and rock.

Naruto's eyes widened as a fourth shuriken came from the smoke. _No, I can't create another one._ He barely moved to the side so the piece of earth slapped him in the side of the arm. The impact was enough to send him backwards, he rolled until he found his footing and took a three-point stance as the free hand grasped the open wound on his arm.

With a wince he brought his fingers up into a cross. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three puffs surrounded before three clones came sprinting out, each with their own kunai drawn.

"Not bad kid, but not good enough," the bald shinobi exclaimed. "Earth Release: Impaling Rock Jutsu." One clone was taken out as three earth spikes shot of from the ground. True to the jutsu's name, the clone was impaled threw the heart, stomach and leg before popping.

The remaining clones made it through to their targets. With a roar they began to clash with their respective opponent. The ring of metal resounding through the path that had turned into a battlefield.

"You aren't bad kid," the girl said. She shifted a kunai into her right hand to block a downwards slash, freezing the kunai. She threw her sleeved hand forward, revealing a hidden blade. Her eyes widened as the clone caught the hidden blade and smirked. Suddenly she heard an explosion come from near one her teammates. She turned when she heard the sizzle of an explosive. On the kunai were the distinctive writings of a Konoha tag. "Dammit."

The pair was suddenly enveloped in an explosion. The clone popping out of existence. In a small, seared circle, was the outline of the shinobi. The outline suddenly crumbled to reveal an Iwa-style substitution technique.

The female nin appeared next to her bald teammate. "Hiei what were those?"

"They were suicide clones." The duo turned to see their last teammate, bloodied and burned. "Kami, the brat is crazy."

"Ishi," the female shouted before being stopped by her teammate.

"Earth Release: Mud Wall Jutsu." The kunoichi looked up just in time to see a torrent of blue flames being blocked by a wall of rock and mud. "Careful Tani, this brat isn't throwing any punches."

"Where did he learn that?"

Hiei was about to answer before a sound was heard. The pair jumped out of the way as a drill seemed to pass through the wall like it was paper. The 'drill' was a kunai aided by a wind jutsu. The two ninja's suddenly reached for a kunai. Each used their tools to block in coming shuriken.

The kunoichi smirked as she easily batted them away. She didn't notice when one flipped over her back and suddenly changed into a Naruto clone. She howled in pain as the clone drove a kunai into her shoulder blade.

She spun and cut the jugular of the clone for it to only pop out of existence. She growled as she pulled the kunai from her shoulder, her arm going numb. The three shinobi jumped back to put distance between them and their opponent.

The Iwa shinobi were gasping for air. They looked on, the smoke finally clearing to reveal their blond opponent with an orange fox in front of him. He was tossing a kunai up and down into the air, his growl matching his partner's. "You ready for round two?"

•••••

Anko spun as slabs of earth jutted from the ground. She escaped the onslaught by jumping onto on the pillars. She turned with a kunai drawn. Next to her was her opponent. The sound of metal rang through the air. She blocked a downwards slash, not fighting her opponent's momentum, she fell backwards. Taking a foot, she jammed it under her opponent's armpit. Using her newest leverage she threw the heavier man into a pillar. She turned and threw a trio of shuriken.

The metal stars embedded in the Iwa-nin who turned to mud. Anko growled when she heard a chuckle from a tree branch just above her. Sitting there was Osuushi, unscathed by the snake mistress' barrage.

"Not bad," he said with a jovial ring in his voice. "I'm glad to see my opponent has some fight in her." He reacted quickly when he heard a hiss from his side. He turned and slashed down as a large snake flew at him. The reptile vanished into smoke. He turned back to the panting Tokubetsu. "Really? You didn't think I knew you planted snakes all across this area? You disappoint me."

Anko could only chuckle. "No, but it could at least buy me time to recover a bit."

The duo turned when they heard the sound of a fire jutsu coming to contact with an earth jutsu. Anko's eyes quickly averted back to her opponent.

"It would seem your apprentice is preforming quite well."

"Never underestimate the gaki," Anko said as she rushed through hand signs, "or me. Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu." Anko put two fingers to her mouth breathed out flames. Osuushi looked to his side to see the glint of ninja wire by his head. The kunoichi had somehow managed to set her trap, probably with her snakes.

"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu." Anko looked under her as a hand shot up from the ground. Before she realized what was happening she was buried neck deep in the ground. Above her was the smirking visage of Osuushi, the glint of his kunai flashing in her eye. "Finally got you," he said triumphantly.

Anko smirked back up at him. "You sure?" Before the Iwa-nin responded the Tokubetsu dispersed into hundreds of tiny snakes.

He jumped back before rushing through more hand signs. He turned fired his next jutsu. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bomb." From the earth came a the head of a brown dragon. The dragon opened its mouth, releasing a barrage of mud balls. The earth jutsu hit the three snakes, which were coming towards him, in the head.

The snakes hissed in pain as they returned to the sleeve of their mistress. Anko grabbed her arm in pain. One of the projectiles had circumvented her snakes and clipped her in the arm. She was gasping for air as she lifted her eyes to meet the gaze of her opponent. She couldn't hide the wince of pain that forced its way across her lips.

"Give up Konoha scum," Osuushi suggested. "You are running out of chakra and your vain attempts are becoming more obvious by the second. It won't be long until you make a mistake or the gaki dies and then it will be four-on-one. It's over."

Anko gritted her teeth and mustered up every ounce of chakra she had left. She could feel her body protesting, asking for a break, begging her for rest. "No," she said defiantly, her gaze lifting up to meet her opponent's. "Not a chance in hell. I've faced worse odds." She reached for her last kunai that was unsealed. She knew she was in trouble, but she had an ace-in-the-hole. All she needed was to clip him once, just once, and it was over. "Come at me."

•••••

The three Chunins snarled. They were being taken to the cleaners by some snot nosed Genin. Hiei took a look at his teammates, Tani was alright, she could continue just fine, but their third didn't look too promising. Ishi was the youngest member of the group by nearly two years. He was bloodied and burnt, one eye soaked and covered in blood, unusable.

"Ishi can you form hand seals?" The brown haired ninja nodded feebly. "Then you'll stay in the back and provide cover. Take soldier pills if you run out of chakra. That leaves the kid and his friend to us Tani."

"Hai," the kunoichi responded. "What do you think Hiei?"

The bald man was about to respond, but the trio had to react fast to the duo in front of them. Naruto made a group of clones. The clones charged at the three Chunins.

Ishi, the injured shinobi, frantically hobbled backwards as he ran through hand signs. "Earth Release: Resounding Gong Jutsu." The Chunin slapped the ground creating tremors that shook the area. The Iwa ninja's took to the trees before the jutsu, but the clones were not as lucky. Losing their balance, many of the clones popped when shurikens were found in their chests.

The Iwa kunoichi landed next to the partners that had stumbled. She reached down with a kunai, pieces of earth connecting to it, elongating the blade. In a flash she was by her target. Ishiri looked on in horror as the kunoichi plunged the dagger into the whiskered boy's chest. Tani felt a shiver go down her spine as the boy smirked back up to her and popped out of existence.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough." The kunoichi couldn't respond fast enough as the blast of air sent careening into a tree trunk.

She tried to get up on shaky legs but ended up hitting the tree again with two kunai embedded in her sleeve and undershirt and another in her flak jacket. Ishiri shook his head, focusing again when Naruto landed next to him. He viewed his partner as the whiskered boy pulled a kunai from his side. Naruto bent to a knee, groaning in pain.

"What, the fuck, were you thinking?" Ishiri growled as he continued to eye their opponents.

"Diversion," Naruto said through his groaning.

Ishiri was about to respond before four figures rose from the ground. He growled and did a front lip at his partner who ducked. Ishiri hit one clone in the head, decapitating the rock figure. Naruto ducked and spun upwards, blocking a strike and flipping the clone into another one, destroying both of them. Naruto suddenly found himself on the ground. He struggled to move, he turned to see the face of the fourth clone. The clone had grabbed him and captured him, taking him to his knees under a rocky structure.

"You were a difficult one." Naruto looked to see the bald Iwa-nin smirking in his direction. Ishiri jumped in the way with a snarl. "Still have some fight in you aye? Well we can finish that off." Hiei began to run through hand signs before finishing. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon."

The ground around the shinobi began to circulate, kicking up dirt and mud. Suddenly a dragon made of earth formed behind him. Naruto, barely being able to make a hand sign, rushing through his own while Ishiri's tail danced rapidly.

The dragon met blue flames empowered by a wind jutsu. The attacks collided, but the earth jutsu proved more powerful. The duo was sent flying back by an explosion. Naruto and Ishiri hit the ground of the path and rolled before coming to a stop.

"Still won't give up aye punk?" The Iwa-nin smirked as Naruto rose to his knees before bending over and coughing up blood. Hiei took his foot and kicked Naruto into a sitting position at the base of a tree. The Iwa-nin took a look into the Genin's blue eyes, relishing the look of defiance. His attention was averted when he heard a growl.

Ishiri rose and limped before stopping and lowering himself, growling the entire time. "We . . . we aren't through yet," he managed to say.

"So the beast can talk?" The Chunin looked to the fox before looking at his opponent, who was teetering on the verge unconsciousness. He slapped the kid a little. "Hey kid, wake up. I want you to see me kill your pet and then your sensei. After that then I will put you to sleep, permanently."

The Chunin chuckled as the blond mop of hair fell, unable to stay conscious. He turned and drew a kunai. "It's a shame you won't get a chance to see me skin this fox alive." He heard a growl from behind him. "What was that ki-"

Staring back at him was a pair of red eyes with black slits for irises. The gaze kept him in place as the voice made his blood go ice cold.

 **"I said don't touch him."**


	13. The Demon Within

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter and honestly I probably wrote and re-wrote this chapter** **probably five times. In the end I believe I made a decent chapter that my readers will enjoy.**

 **I want to make a quick shot out to those that have reviewed this fic, who have favorited it, who have followed it or have PM'd me about my fic. I truly do appreciate all the advice, criticism, reviews and support that I have gotten for this story. I love what I do for a hobby and it is nice to see people appreciating my hard work.**

 **I ask all of you who read this to take time out of your day and please review this fic. You don't have to, obviously, but I'd really appreciate it. Tell me what you think, what you like and don't like, how I could improve my writing or just your thoughts in general. I'd love to hear what you have to say.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 13**

The sound of dripping water woke him, his first breathe shocking him from his slumber. His eyes fluttered open to see a pale yellow light above him. He turned his head when he heard another drip of water. The feeling of emptiness, of hollow loneliness came with the sound. It wasn't over powering, but it ached. It was a feeling he had felt for so long that he had learned to ignore it.

He sat up and looked around him. Pipes lined the ceiling and the walls with different corridors coming from the hallway he was in. Each path seeming darker than the last. He looked at his hands, he reached out for the water that he sat in but he could not feel the sensation of the cool liquid. His head turn when he felt something, a pull leading him down the hall. He stood up, wondering why he wasn't hurting. He looked down to see no wound where the kunai had hit him. He looked up again when the strange feeling came with a snarl.

He took a step, then another, and soon he was walking freely towards the snarling presence. With each step the growling got louder, more beastly, more ferocious. Naruto looked in a hallway.

It was pitch black except for a faint light at the end. He gulped, the snarls had stopped, replaced by a voice coaxing him to approach. He walked the hallway, the light growing brighter with each step. Naruto had to shield his eyes the final steps. He opened his eyes and blinked. Looking around he could see nothing about the room he had entered except a yellow light that faintly bathed the opposite end. Naruto took a closer look to see the bars of a cage with a note that had the kanji for 'seal' on it.

Suddenly fire erupted from the bars and raced toward him. Before they could reach him, the flames split apart and spread to the walls lighting the base of the walls on fire and bathing the room in a red hue. Naruto turned when he heard a chuckle to see two, gigantic, red eyes stare back at him.

 **"We finally meet in person Kit,"** the voice said with blood lust filling its ever word.

Naruto looked up with speechless awe and slight terror in his eyes. "Who . . . Who are you?"

 **"Do you not recognize me human?"** the voice asked without hiding its amusement from the boy.

Naruto looked down, thinking to his past, before his head finally shot up. "You're that voice from the Kitsune Library and before my graduation. So it was you who gave me the chakra?"

Razor sharp teeth accompanied the red eyes. The creature chuckled at the boy in front of him. **"Yes, I did."**

"I need some more right now," Naruto spoke out quickly. "I need that chakra again or else Ishiri and Anko-sensei will die."

 **"Why should you care for that purple haired banshee?"** the creature asked as he furrowed its eyes at the young boy. **"She has lied to you, they all have."**

"Anko-sensei has never lied to me," Naruto shot back.

 **"She has not told you everything. That is the same thing Kit."**

Naruto took a step back from the bars. His eyes widened. "What hasn't she been telling me?" he asked barely above a whisper.

 **"About me."**

Before Naruto could ask what he meant by that, the darkness behind the bars erupted into an orange glow. Staring back at Naruto was a large fox with nine tails, each swishing behind the beast widely, with a mind of their own. His fangs were prominent, his claws razor sharp.

"No. No it can't be," Naruto began to sputter. "But you're-"

 **"The Kyubi no Yoko,"** the biju all but shouted with anger. **"The most powerful of all the biju, hatred manifest, destruction and chaos turned flesh. And I am sealed within you."**

"That's a lie," Naruto roared. "The Yondaime defeated you thirteen years ago."

The demon threw his head back as he roared in laughter. His voice caused the bars to shake, the ripples from their base causing small waves. **"Foolish mortal. I cannot be defeated by the likes of your kind. Merely controlled and caged to be held in check before a new container is needed, and when you die, I will be sealed away into another jail."**

Naruto fell to his knees before lurching forward. He put both hands on the ground as he began to drive heave. All the negative emotions he had ever felt, anger, sadness, despair, and sorrow seemed to erupt at the same time.

"This can't be true," Naruto whispered. "Why would they do this to me?"

 **"Because we are a weapon,"** the biju answered his container. **"That is all we are to them. They made you in order to control my power, and here you are, seeking the same thing. Shinobi create weapons, sharpen them, and use them until they become dull and weak. Then they get rid of them. You are Konoha's ultimate weapon."**

"That's not true," Naruto tried to reason. He tried to push those thoughts away. He brought a hand to his heart and squeezed, trying to keep it from breaking. It hurt; it felt like his heart had been ripped cleanly out of him. "It can't be."

 **"Wake up Kit,"** the demon roared. **"That's is all you are to them. Why do you think the Sandaime would take such an interest in an orphan, an outcast? He made sure you survived long enough to be deemed useful to the village. That is why he came by. Not out of love and a kind heart, but out of safety for his village. All those glares, the words spoken behind your back, happen because they don't see you as anything but a beast, a monster. To them you are the Kyubi. But now we can be rid of them. Let the purple haired banshee die and we will can live away from them, on our own."**

"No," Naruto looked up and shouted. He stood himself back up and glared at the demon from his spot on the other side of the cage. "I won't abandon my sensei."

 **"Why? She only sees a monster,"** the Kyubi sneered.

"Because she is precious to me."

The biju lifted an eyebrow at his container. Mito had had the guts to first seal him away, but she ignored him. Kushina had tied him away, and with Minato in her life, had simply forgotten about him. But neither woman had had the guts to stand up to him like this mere child had just done. Whenever they looked at him there was a hint of fear in their eyes, but not in this blond boy.

His eyes were set on fire, burning with determination and . . . courage. He stood in front of the cage, coming eye to eye with the demon, and he wasn't afraid to face him down. He had met him head on. He had not been ignored, he had not been tied up, he had been talked back to.

The Kyubi opened his mouth and roared. The entire room shook violently. The waters of the sewer like atmosphere crashed to and fro. He lowered his gaze and still the boy stared at him, unfazed.

 **"You dare to stand up to me?"** he asked with ferocity laced into every word.

Naruto took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. He opened them and pointed at the creature. "I am Uzumaki Naruto. I will surpass all those that came before me. I will protect those that are precious to me. Demon or not, your chakra or not, I will protect Ishiri and Anko-sensei and everyone of Konoha because that is my home. Mark my words you over sized fur ball: I will not back down. Not to a bunch of Iwa-nin, or anyone else and certainly not to you."

 **"Fine, but remember Kit: not everyone that wears the symbol of the Leaf can be trusted."** Before Naruto could respond, a red shadow seemed to come to him. It got his feet and suddenly wrapped around him. Naruto shouted as energy exploded in his body. He felt warm, on fire . . . and it felt good.

The room began to fade away, but the Kyubi's voice still spoke. **"Just don't die."**

•••••

Hiei looked on as red chakra seemed to burn off the young blond. Smoke came from his wound at his side and the nicks he had gotten throughout the battle. His whisker-like features on his cheeks became more prominent and his finger nails grew to be claws of a predator. He slowly rose, the eyes of the Iwa-nin widening when he flashed out of existence before appearing at Hiei's side. He could only turn his head to watch the Genin throw a kick at his side. The attack landed and sent the Chunin flying into a tree.

Naruto grabbed a kunai and batted pieces of earth out of the sky like they were wooden shuriken. He appeared next to the kunoichi who had sent the attack. She was holding her side where she had just pulled a kunai out of. She threw a frantic spinning backhand, missing completely. Naruto spun and took the girl's legs out from under her. She fell forward. Naruto caught her before she could hit the ground.

Naruto spun and slammed her onto the ground, creating a crater in the earth where she hit. Naruto pushed himself into the air and came down with a fist. Tani opened her mouth, a silent scream trying desperately to be heard. Her head fell back, blood pouring from her mouth. Her eyes losing their life and light.

"You bastard." Naruto's eyes shot up when a large group of clones grabbed him and surrounded him, locking him into place. He looked to see Ishi, battered and bruised, limp his was. "You . . . You will pay for this." He rapidly ran through hand signs, but never got the chance to finish.

He froze mid hand seal. He looked down to see a paw, smoking and on fire, was through his chest. He groaned as he fell forward, revealing Ishiri behind him who was painted in blood. Ishiri jumped back but snarled in pain as Hiei slashed at his eye. He looked up with one eye and teethed bared.

Heie went to go for another slash before he heard a roar. Naruto put his arms on front of his body and through them back, roaring as he did. An orange blast of chakra flew through the battlefield. Hiei flew through a tree trunk with a hand at his throat.

 **"Don't. You. Dare. Touch. Him. Again."**

Hiei clawed at his captor's hand. He could feel the chakra burn his skin. His vision began to fade, the last thing he saw was a pair of red eyes. His body went limp. Naruto continued to snarl, waiting for his opponent to make a move that would never come.

"Naruto!"

•••••

"Come at me!"

"My pleasure," Osuushi said as he drew a kunai. The pair began to circle each other, ignoring the bangs and cracks coming from the other fight. Finally they had eyed each other up long enough.

Anko screamed out as she jumped at her opponent, Osuushi following suit. He kept his eyes on the purple haired kunoichi before a blast of chakra rocked the area. "What the hell?" he yelled, taking his eyes off his initial opponent to see one of his students fly through a tree trunk.

He quickly turned back and blocked the impaling of a kunai with his non-sleeved armed. He countered by plunging his kunai into his opponent's side. Anko cried out in pain before pushing the Iwa Jonin off of her. She did a back flip to gain more space before pulling the kunai out of her side and standing up. She coughed up blood and grabbed her side.

"This was a good fight," Osuushi said as he took a step toward his opponent. "But it's over."

"I agree, it is." Anko groaned and added more pressure to her wound. "I will be sure to take your name out of our Bingo Books."

Osuushi threw his head back and howled in laughter before lurching forward. His veins felt on fire, his muscles aching with a searing pain and his vision going wild. "Wh-What's going on?" he asked before falling to a knee. He tried to keep his eyes on his opponent as he tried to reach for another kunai, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

"It's my ace-in-the-hole," Anko said through gritted teeth. She knew she was in a bad situation, a situation only made worse by the spike of the Kyubi's chakra from her apprentice. She had been warned about the possibilities, but she never thought she'd actually feel that menacing chakra again. She returned her attention to her opponent, who began to shake.

"My last kunai is kept separate from the rest because it's laced with a very deadly poison. It's taken from my vipers and chemically altered to lengthen the proteins that make up the venom, allowing them to carry other chemicals that can be attached to various sights along the chain," Anko said before chuckling, "like arsenic and other cardiotoxins that work to destroy muscle function. It really is a hell of drug."

Osuushi could feel his muscles burning, begging for oxygen. His heart was beating rapidly, trying to supply it, but it couldn't keep up. "How are you not affected?"

Anko turned back to survey the battlefield. She looked at her dying opponent, she knew he didn't have much time left. "I am. That's why it's my ace-in-the-hole. One slip up or one missed step and I die. It's a poison even I'm not immune to. Goodbye Osuushi."

Osuushi couldn't even cry out in pain. He fell to the ground and writhed around before becoming still and succumbing to his demise.

Anko looked around before she saw something that made her gasp. Standing there, with an opponent in his hand, was Naruto, his eyes burning bright red. He snarled like a wild animal. She heard a whimper and saw and Ishiri holding a paw over his eye.

"Anko," Ishiri whimpered. "You have to help him."

She hobbled over to her apprentice. She could feel the chakra radiating from him. "Naruto!" she yelled. The boy's head immediately turned when he heard his name. Anko froze at the red eyes that stared at her, or rather through her.

Naruto could only see red until he heard his name. He looked over to see Anko with a hand at her side. What caught his attention were her eyes. They were filled with worry and something looking like fear. He had never seen her brown eyes without their normal, hard tint to them.

 **"See Kit?"** Kyubi asked with a purr in his voice. **"She only sees you as a monster."**

Anko watched as Naruto let go of the Iwa shinobi, the red chakra disappearing, his whiskers becoming less prominent. At last his eyes turned into their normal bright blue. "Anko-sensei?" he whispered before falling backwards and passing out.

"Naruto!" Anko cried out before jumping and catching the Genin in her arms. She took two fingers and placed it on his neck. "Oh sweet Kami. He's ok," she said with a sigh. Anko sat him up against the trunk of a tree and stood up with a grown. "You ok?" she asked Ishiri who was still pawing at his face.

"Yeah I'll be alright." He took a look at his partner's sensei to see her bloodied trench coat. "But I can't say the same about you."

"Yeah," Anko said with a chuckle. "This wound is a doozy. We may have to return to Rokoku and seek medical attention. But if that happens then there will probably be back up. Dammit."

"I think I have a solution," Ishiri said. He took his tail and rubbed it against his bloodied eye. He looked back before slapping the ground. His tail was covered in smoke. Anko looked on with curiosity.

When the smoke cleared a green fox was standing behind Ishiri, its tail swishing happily behind its body. "Hello Ishiri-kun," the fox said with a sweet tone to her voice before it shrieked. "Ishir-kun what happened?" The fox looked up to see Anko, also bloodied and bruised. "What did you do to my Ishiri-kun?" the green vixen asked before leaping in front of the orange kitsune with bared teeth.

Anko took a step backwards, lifting her hands in the air. "Calm down. The fighting is over."

"Satsuri-chan, this is Anko, Naruto's sensei," Ishiri said before his eyebrows furrowed. "And 'you're Ishiri-kun'?"

"Uh . . . Um . . . So your Naruto-sama's sensei?" Satsuri asked with a pink hue across her muzzle. "Where is he?"

Anko, even further confused, pointed to the unconscious boy sitting against a tree. Seeing the blond haired boy, she yipped and made a dash to his side. Her tail glowed green, running it up and down the boy's body. The vixen took a step back and nodded.

"Exhausted, like the first time I met him. Whatever happened, he's fine. No cuts, bruises or anything," Satsuri said before walking up to Ishiri. "You, on the other hand, are a completely different matter."

"Don't treat me first," Ishiri said. He motioned with his head to the Tokubetsu who looked lost. "She's worse off than I am. I will live."

Satsuri huffed before walking up to the kunoichi. She sniffed and walked around the Tokubetsu. "Ishiri-kun was right, you reek of snakes."

"I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," Anko said with a chuckle before wincing and grabbing her side. "Dammit."

"Take off your trench coat and lie on the ground," Satsuri said, her sweet voice changing quickly to a very serious tone. She growled a little when Anko hesitated. "Did I stutter?" She nodded her head with a smile when the Tokubetsu listened. "Very good."

Anko looked as the vixen took her tail and swept it across her body like she had done earlier to her apprentice. She was staring up into the tree limbs that created a canopy, not noticing when the vixen lowered her head near her wound. Anko jumped when she felt something wet and cold lick the opening on her side.

"Hold still," Satsuri said with an annoyed ring in her voice. "I have to disinfect the wound first."

"By licking it?"

"The Kitsune have a medical technique," Satsuri explained. "By using our saliva, mixed with some chakra, we are able to disinfect battlefield wounds. This way you won't have a chance of getting an infection, now hold still."

Anko groaned as she laid back. After a while she suddenly felt something warm. She looked to see her wound begin to burn and steam begin to rise. She could see the steam, but it didn't feel hot. Rather it felt soothing, comforting. She could feel her energy begin to return. Before she could move, the green vixen also began to work on the wound in her arm as well as minor cuts and bruises across her body. Anko went to get up but a gentle paw was put on her chest, easing her back to the ground.

"You need to rest," Satsuri said with the sweet ring returning to her voice. "You will be very sore. I did the best I could, but with everything I did your body still needs time to recuperate."

"We don't really have a choice," Anko said, again trying to sit herself up. She finally sat up and winced, the fox wasn't lying. "We have to get moving. When they don't report back at the given intervals then backup will come. This was probably a B-ranked, maybe even a low A-ranked mission. With that type of priority, along with working in a neutral country and not behind enemy lines, they probably check in frequently. When they don't they'll send ANBU. We can't be here when that happens."

"Fine. Then stay still and relax while I treat Ishiri-kun," Satsuri ordered.

Anko nodded. She watched as Satsuri worked on Ishiri, making the sizeable cut across his eye vanish. A small line across his eye, where the fur was cut, marked the only significant difference in the orange fox's appearance, but it would probably vanish when a new coat came in.

"Thanks," Anko said. She went over to her apprentice. She hoisted him onto her back, grabbing his legs and leaning slightly forward. "I can take it from here. You two go . . . Well wherever the hell you foxes hang out."

The two kitsune looked at each other. They looked back at the Konoha-nin and shook their heads. "Not a chance," Ishiri said. "Naruto is out for who knows how long and you're still sore. If there is backup then you'll need backup of your own. I'm not leaving my partner and his sensei in danger while I can still fight."

"Hai and you are still recovering," Satsuri pointed out. "I would be ignoring my duties if I didn't stay and monitor your health and that of Naruto when he wakes up."

Anko sighed and hung her head. "I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" Seeing them both shake their heads she groaned. "Fine, but we are keeping to the trees. We should be in Hi no Kuni in a few days. After that then I can take care of the gaki on my own."

"Fair enough," Ishiri responded. Satsuri nodded her head in agreement.

"Then let's head out," Anko said. The small band of shinobi and kitsune vanished into the trees, leaving the battlefield, a bloody mess, behind them.

•••••

Anko continued on, her legs sore and back beginning to hurt, but still she carried on. She had been surprised, her company was keeping up with her and seemed be actually taking it easy. She took a look around. They had been traveling for about four hours, maybe longer, taking multiple cut backs and crossing creeks when they came upon them. So far there was no sign of pursuers.

She was taken out of her thoughts by a groan. She turned, with a slightly startled gaze, to her apprentice as he groaned. His steady breathing had put in her a slight trance, one that was interrupted when the Genin began to wake.

She stopped at the base of a large tree in a small clearing. She gently slid the boy off her back and laid him down. His eyes fluttered open to reveal his blue gaze. "Kami gaki, you had me actually worrying about you," Anko said with a slight smirk. "Don't even think about dying on me. I don't want to take the time to break in a new apprentice."

Anko realized her own laughter wasn't being accompanied by his. She looked down to see him in a seated position, facing away from her. She was about to make a remark when her thoughts were interrupted by their company.

"Naruto-sama," Satsuri exclaimed as she landed next to the blond. "Stay still, I need to do an examination."

Naruto raised a hand and lazily waved the vixen off. "Gomen Satsuri-chan. I'm fine." Naruto looked out of the corner of his eye to see the vixen about to argue. "I said I'm fine," Naruto shouted at the fox.

Satsuri's ears fell. She took a step backwards with her tail between her legs. Naruto had never barked at her like that. He had always been so polite and nice to her. She loved it when he would scratch behind her ears. What had she done?

Ishiri looked on the quick interaction with worry of his own. Naruto had never had that short of a temper. Usually it would come out if he couldn't get a jutsu or technique down, or if they ran out of ramen. He had never snapped at anyone before, not like this. "How are you doing?"

Naruto looked over at his partner. "I'm fine. Just tired. How's your eye?"

Ishiri shrugged. "Not too bad. Satsuri-chan fixed it nice and quick after the fighting was over." He saw a slight smile appear on his friend's face at the knowledge he was safe. "That was one hell of a dog fight aye?"

"More like a fox fight," Naruto responded softly. The duo chuckled at his bad joke. Things seemed to be improving. "Where are we?"

"You've been out for a few hours maggot," Anko explained. "We moved from the battlefield in case they have back up. We can set up camp here for the night. It's getting dark anyways."

"But shouldn't we get to Konoha quickly?" Naruto asked in shock. "I mean after what happened won't the Hokage want to know?"

"Wouldn't do anything."

"Wouldn't do anything? Wouldn't do anything?!" Naruto shrieked. "We just got jumped by four Iwa-nin sent on a mission to kill us and take the medicine needed for the hospital."

"And then what?" Anko asked rhetorically. "The Hokage is just going to come out and say it? And Iwa is suppose to admit to it? No, if anything they'll say a team went rogue, thinking they were acting in the way they thought was best for their village. It's annoying but it is a political ploy, and a good one. The Elemental Nations are still recovering from the last war and other skirmishes while Konoha has just gotten back on its feet from the Kyubi attack." Anko saw a brief flash of pain cross her apprentice's face. _Does he know?_ Anko shook her head. "Anyways, since neither village wants another war then they will deny all claims, and the Hokage will accept that. War between the hidden villages would be useless anyways. They are too big to be taken down unless a large scale invasion is planned, but with the current treaties that are in place, and Kiri in a civil war, that won't happen any time soon."

"Then what happens?"

"We finish our mission as ordered," Anko said dryly. "That's what happens on a mission: you face resistance, you eliminate the threat and you finish your goal."

"Oh," Naruto responded before looking around. "Well if we are going to set up camp I guess I'll get fire wood." He went to get up but was pushed back down. He looked up to Anko who stood above him.

"You've been out for hours gaki. Stay and rest. That is an order." After getting a nod of understanding, Anko took to the branches. While a large fire would not be ideal, they still needed a small one. Enough to cook and get themselves warm before the chill of the night came in.

"Um . . . Naruto-sama?" Naruto turned his head to see Satsuri, her head down and her tail not swishing behind her in its usual manor. "Gomen for pushing the issue, I know you don't like to get treatment, but I would be honored if you would allow me to treat any wounds you have and give you an examination." The entire time the vixen spoke, her head was pointing to the ground.

Naruto could hear the words of the biju ring in his ears. Here was a being who had never been afraid of him They had laughed and talked together happily, and now she couldn't even look at him in the eyes. "Please Satsuri-chan. That would be nice." He reached for her, but before he could scratch her behind the ears, she flinched.

Tentatively she looked up to see a sad smile on his face. She bent into his hand and purred slightly before beginning her examination of the boy. By that time Anko returned with a small pile of sticks. Quickly making a small fire, she prepared dinner.

The meal was awkward at best. Naruto played with his food, a pained look on his face. Anko was at a loss for words for once. She didn't know how much the Genin knew about his tenant. Silenced by the Sandaime's decree, she decided to keep quiet until he brought it up. The foxes could feel the tension in the air. It was driving Ishiri insane.

"Oi Naruto," he began with a bark, "what's wrong?"

Naruto looked around at the faces who showed him their concern, yet he still couldn't meet Anko's gaze. "That . . . That night in the forest when we were training. What happened?"

"You know what happened," Ishiri responded with confusion.

"I've heard it before," Naruto shot back. "A training accident. But what really happened?"

Ishiri opened his mouth, but shut it quickly. He thought about some more before sighing. "You began to get covered in this weird chakra. I went to check on you and it just went off like an explosive. That's all I remember. Next thing I knew I woke up with everyone looking at me."

"Did the chakra remind you of the chakra I used today?"

Ishiri looked at his friend with sympathetic eyes. He finally saw where this was headed. He didn't know what happened, but it had obviously unsettled his partner. The young fox nodded slowly. "Hai. Same chakra."

"Naruto-sama," Satsuri said softly when the blond boy rose. She began to get up and walk to him but was stopped when he lifted his hand.

"I'm fine Satsuri-chan. I-I just need to take a walk. That ok?" Satsuri nodded slightly, concern evident in her eyes. "Thank you."

The trio looked to see the blond boy vanish into the woods. He walked slowly, his shoulders slumped and his entire demeanor sad.

"What was that about?" Ishiri finally turned to Anko and asked.

Anko shrugged her shoulders and continued to stare at her food. "Beats me. You've known him longer. Figured I'd ask you first."

"You know exactly what's going on," Ishiri retorted quickly. "I saw you trying to pick out the right words to say, how to respond. Yet you stayed quiet. Why?"

Anko groaned as she dropped her empty dish and ran her hands through her hair. "Kami fox, you ask a lot of questions."

"You hold a lot secrets," Ishiri responded with a slight snarl. "Talk."

"It isn't that easy," Anko hissed back. She took a breath to cool her temper. The Tokubetsu peered in the direction her charge had vanished off to. "The kid's life has never been easy. Some people will never go through half the shit he has in his young lifetime. And if they do I'm not sure they'd come out the other side whole."

"What happened to Naruto-sama?" Satsuri asked after the trio fell into silence.

"What hasn't? He's been ostracized, ignored, mistreated, never given an equal chance at anything. All because of something he had no control of," Anko said sadly.

Ishiri looked at her. Her eyes told the whole story; she had been through the same pain. "You two are a lot a like, aren't you?"

"Hai. In more ways than you'll ever know," Anko answered.

"Then go talk to him," Ishiri suggested.

"It isn't that easy."

The trio sat in silence for some time before Ishiri finally spoke up. "He looks up to you, you know?"

Anko looked up with a curious look on her face. "What was that?"

"Naruto, he looks up to you," Ishiri said nonchalantly. "He says you are tough, not letting those words everyone says get to you. He envies that. He pretends to ignore it, but it still hurts him, a lot. He talks nonstop about what you teach him when he isn't working with our sensei. He wants to make you proud."

Anko's confusion turned into determination. Without saying a word she shushinned away, leaving the kitsune by themselves. Ishiri looked around before a devious smirk played across his face. "So . . . 'My Ishiri-kun'?"

Satsuri squeaked, her entire pelt seemingly going a bright pink hue.

•••••

Anko followed Naruto's trail. It led to a tree line. Coming out of the trees she saw Naruto, seated on a rock that looked over a small creek, looking down into his hand. Anko took a step forward and heard the soft sound of a bell ringing sweetly in the air. She continued on until she was looking over the blonde's shoulder.

In his hand was a silver bell hanging by a small red string. It was the same bell from Naruto's mission against Team Eight. "Kept it as a memento of your win over Team Eight?"

Naruto's head whirled around to see his sensei standing behind him. He gingerly, with great care, wrapped the bell in a cloth and placed it in his kunai pouch. "Yeah, something like that. Why are you out here Anko-sensei?"

Anko shrugged her shoulders. "Stars are out, moon is full, seemed like the perfect time to walk around and clear my head. Something it seems like your doing, aye?"

Anko inwardly sighed when Naruto turned back to the creek. Deciding that snapping at him was not the right choice, she took a seat next to him. She ran her hand along the rock and found a few pebbles. Taking a few in one hand, she began to skip them across the creek, the ripples dancing across the top of the water.

Finally her patience paid off when Naruto muttered something. "What was that gaki?"

Naruto looked up at her with said eyes that held a lifetime of pain. Anko could feel her heart being ripped out of her chest before he even spoke a word. "Am I a monster?"

Anko didn't hesitate, whether he knew or not, her answer would have been the same. "No. You're Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konoha and my student," she said as she patted him on the head.

"I met it. I met the Kyubi." Anko's hand froze on his head, a look of shock on her face. "During the battle. I blacked out and when I woke up I was in this sewer and I met him or it or whatever. Is that why everyone hates me?"

Anko took a minute to process her response. She had to pick her words carefully. "It's true that the Kyubi was sealed inside of you when you were a newborn."

"Then why wasn't I told?" Naruto nearly shouted.

"A gag order."

"A gag order?" Naruto looked up with a questioning gaze.

"Hai. It was decided by the Sandaime to keep your tenant a secret until you were old enough to both understand what happened and to protect yourself," Anko explained. "What were supposed to tell a kid that was in the situation you were in? That would only have pushed you away further."

"I deserved to know," Naruto said bitterly.

"Hai, I don't argue that," Anko said with a sigh. "But I think it made you who you are. You are something special maggot."

"As special as a monster could be," Naruto muttered.

"Well if you're a monster than so am I."

"S-Sensei?" Naruto finally looked up to the Tokubetsu. In his eyes were questions and apprehension.

Anko sighed as she grabbed the shoulder of her trench coat and pulled it down to reveal where her neck and shoulder met. There Naruto could see three tomoe swirled next to each other. Anko let his eyes linger on her mark before hiding it under her coat once more.

"Wh-What was that?" Naruto asked, his eyes still on the place he had seen the mark.

"The last 'gift' from my sensei," Anko nearly spat the words out. "He did a lot of bad things when he was in the village. Innocent lives were taken so he could preform research." Anko shivered as the memories of what she had seen came back to her. Even after all these years it still bothered her. "He was a traitor and I followed him without knowing what he had done. That's when he gave me this Curse Mark, as he called it, as part of his experiments. I was the only one out of ten to survive it being placed on them. One day I was found on an island and was returned to Konoha, but the people saw me as a monster too.

"They didn't see me as a victim, but rather a pawn of my old sensei who came back to betray them. They saw my sensei and they didn't see me for me. It didn't help I use snake jutsus, something that my sensei was famous for. It took a while but I found a group that accepted me, they didn't see my sensei or the monster people said I was. They saw me for me and with their help I began to recover from what happened.

"We are the same, you and I. We put our trust in people and we were dealt a bad hand. One for the safety of the village, whether you want to hear it or not, and the other was for power and greed. Still people see us differently because of that. So we have a choice: we can choose to be the monster they see us as or we can choose our own path, our own destiny."

"But why did the Yondaime choose me?" Naruto asked with a still painful look in his eyes. "Why?"

"I can't answer that gaki. No one but the Yondaime can answer that," Anko pointed out. "But it's pointless to ask why. We just have to look ahead and keep moving."

"Will people accept me?" Naruto asked.

"They already do gaki," Anko patted him on the back. "The T&I Division has taken a shine to you and so has many others like the people at Ichiraku's and Team Ten and that Hyuga girl. They see you for you. They see what I see: a good kid with a big heart who is one hell of a fighter."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Thanks Anko-sensei, I appreciate that."

Anko put an arm around her apprentice and shook him a bit. "Of course maggot."


	14. Secrets and Lies

**Back with another chapter! This one is lighter on action, but still hoping you will like it. Also check the Author's Note at the end of the chapter.**

 **One thing: I am looking for a beta reader. I do go over my own worker but obviously miss a few things here and there. I want to be the best writer I can and a big part of that includes eliminating sloppy writing errors. If anyone would want to do that or know someone who does please PM me. That would be awesome.**

 **As always please, please, please review. If you like something or dislike something, tell me. If you think something is funny or just have a thought then feel free to voice it. I like feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 14**

"You've got to be kidding me," Naruto screeched. He looked up to see a rather ornate building with pillars on either side for the entrance. What really caught his attention was the steam rolling up from the back of the establishment and the sign that advertised the hot spring. "This is the important detour that would help in my training?"

Anko had a big smile on her face as she nodded and continued on. "Yep. You need to learn something Naruto and that is how to unwind after a tough mission." Anko hummed a tune when she opened up the doors and was greeted by the lobby of a hotel that was attached to the hot springs, she liked what she saw. "You see maggot, if you continuously go from one mission to the next, without stopping for a break every now and then, you will be driven insane and wear yourself out." She shook her head in fake regret. "Saw it happen to too many shinobi in my day."

"But why a hot spring? Couldn't it be just use the bath houses in Konoha?" Naruto whined more. It wasn't that he didn't understand what his sensei was trying to teach, but why couldn't she have pick somewhere . . . less stuffy?

Naruto looked around and saw the guests were dressed in the finest bathrobes and kimonos, heck even the employees looked sharp. He felt out of place in his dirty, smelly clothes. They had been on the road for a little over two weeks. They had taken a different, yet longer route back to Hi no Kuni just in case they had company waiting for them along the fastest route. Once they had made it to home soil, they had eased up a bit taking their time to rest sore joints and continue to treat wounds.

Ishiri, Satsuri and Anko seemed to hit it off, which made Naruto happy. He liked seeing his partner and his sensei getting along. After the first night of awkwardness the trip had gone smoothly. Satsuri had argued a bit after being told that they could go home and get some rest.

While the vixen had argued that she never got to leave the den, in truth she had enjoyed her time, fairly alone, with Ishiri and Naruto, but mostly Ishiri. So she had argued nonstop until Naruto threatened to tell Luna about her role in one of the pair's pranks. They had spread an adhesive to the elder's chairs and laughed their butts off when they heard shouts and screams from the five kitsune. They wouldn't have been able to pull it off had Satsuri not snuck the concoction from the medical branch of the clan.

"Because the Konoha baths are full of perverts," Anko piped up. She took a look around before seeing the sign that would lead them to the hot springs. "Too many shinobi who know how to peak over walls or hid in the trees above the place. I'd rather not be stark naked in front of people like that."

"And there aren't any shinobi here?" Naruto asked, taking a look around. Sure this wasn't Konoha, but there were patrols out all the time. There had to be ninja in the area.

"Eh not really," Anko said with a shrug. "These hot springs are more for the noble and merchants of the country as a little get away. Not really a shinobi hang out."

"So I've noticed." Naruto stopped talking when they reached the counter.

The lady behind the desk was dressed neatly in a pink dress that went up to her mid-thigh, her black hair done up in a bun and held in place by two pink sticks that crossed somewhere in her bun. The woman looked on the two with curiosity. A raised eyebrow accompanied a questioning look. She wasn't outright rude to the two shinobi, but the pair could tell she wasn't impressed.

"May I help you?" she asked in a sweet tone that was clearly forced.

"Hai," Anko chirped happily. She patted the top of Naruto's hair, a little dust flying off from their travels. "We are looking to take a bit of a brake, tough missions and what-not. Anyways, we would like to use your hot springs. How much?"

"Um . . . Yes of course," the woman said. She took a better look at the pair. Their clothes were covered in dry blood, and dirt just seemed to fall off of them with every movement. "It does seem like you are in need of a bath." She shook her head when she realized what she had said. "Yes well the cost is going to be 50 ryo for access to the bath and 5 for towels and an extra 10 if you wish to rent a locker."

Anko slapped her hand across her apprentice's mouth. She didn't have to look to know his eyes had nearly jumped out of his skull at the high prices of the resort. She had to remember that he wasn't use to having a little extra pocket change, but with the mission they had just gone on, he could afford it and still have enough left over for a buffet at Ichiraku's.

"Sounds like a plan," Anko said with her ear-to-ear smile. She looked to Naruto who just glared at her with a tick mark on his forehead. "Shove it gaki, you can afford it. Plus it's been a while since this kunoichi pampered herself a bit."

Finally batting Anko's hand off of his mouth, Naruto grumbled. "Never seemed like the type to do a girly thing like this." He was immediately sent to the ground.

"Even a kunoichi can enjoy the finer things in life every once in a while," Anko snarled as her apprentice got up and rubbed his head. She turned back to the counter and smiled at the woman who now had a shocked and tentative look in her eyes. "Now where do we go?"

The woman simply nodded and collected their payments, exchanging them with a bracelet that let them in the baths, a key for a locker, and a towel. "Yes, well, right this way." The Konoha-nin followed the employee until they came to a wall with two doors divided by a wall that reached the ceiling.

The woman turned and gestured to the right. "This side is for the gentleman and the this side is for the ladies. Please leave all sharp . . . accessories in your lockers. We try to provide a relaxing and peaceful environment here for our guests. It is our practice to take a quick rinse in a shower before going into the public bathes." She took a quick look at Naruto before saying deadpanned. "Maybe a couple."

The lady smiled and strode away from the pair, leaving them standing in front of their respective entrances. Anko turned to her student. "Ok gaki, you heard the lady. Don't do anything stupid, no summoning Ishiri or Satsuri, no kunai, no clones and NO JUTSU. Understood?"

Naruto nodded sheepishly as Anko accented her point well. The look he gave her made him shiver. "Hai sensei."

"Good. We will hit the road later tonight. So relax and enjoy gaki," Anko said before happily striding into the women's locker room.

Naruto groaned as he opened the door and was hit by a blast of steam. He meandered in and took a look around. The oak doors of every locker matched the wood floors. Steamed poured out of the sauna and made Naruto sweat in his ninja gear. Naruto looked at his key and searched for a bit until he came to the locker that it matched. He unlocked it and began to place his things in, making sure to keep a pair of shorts for bathing. He had to admit that it did feel good to take off all of his gear for a little bit.

He walked through, making sure to keep his eyes as north as possible. He took a quick shower. He winced when he saw mud falling off of him in clumps. _I think that crabby lady was right, maybe something better than a quick rinse._ Naruto turned off the showerhead when he felt clean enough to go into the baths.

He flashed the guard the bright green band that was on his wrist, indicating he had paid. He looked around and had to admit that it was nice. The stone walkways were accented by the small gardens and trees around them. A large rock formation was in the back of the area with steaming water coming down from various points of the rock, simulating a waterfall. He walked across a red bridge that went across a small creek before finding a small spot in the back where he could be alone. He tossed his towel on a rock that was near the bath. He slipped in and sighed, his body relaxing with the heat of the water. He found a nook in the rock that fit him perfectly. He leaned back and rested his head on the rock of the bath.

He could feel his aches and sores vanish. Maybe his sensei was right; this was needed for a healthy life. If he was being honest with himself, he could get use to it. After a bit, Naruto began to notice a noise that didn't match up to his surroundings. The peaceful sound of the waterfall was being interrupted by occasional giggling. Naruto was having flashbacks of his time at the academy and the multiple fan girls giggling over the Uchiha.

A tick mark grew on his forehead as the annoyance got louder and louder. Finally his eyes shot open, he had had enough. Naruto shot up out of the hot spring and spun around. He focused his eyes on the area around the hot spring. He finally found an inconsistency. It was something that could be easily looked over. Fescue, toward the wall that split the men's and women's baths, was bent slightly inwards like something was standing near it.

Naruto's suspicions were confirmed with another giggle coming from the same spot. Naruto bent into the water. Bring his hands above his head quickly, he threw water at the area, the outline of a man becoming obvious.

"Oi, why are you hiding?" Naruto snarled.

A man with spiky white hair in a ponytail that reached to the middle of his back turned to Naruto with a surprised look. He turned, still in a kneeling position, and looked at the boy. He could be seen with a green kimono shirt underneath a red haori with green pants. Along his calf and forearms shown a mesh undershirt. On his feet were red geta and on his forehead was a hitai-ate that had the kanji for 'oil' on it. Next to the man was a large scroll.

"Mind your own business kid," the man said with a wave of his hand, brushing off the young Genin. "I got research to do."

"What type of research involves you standing in the corner of a hot spring?" Naruto screeched. "And it is my business. You've been making so much noise I can barely relax."

"You should try not yelling," the man offered. "Might help."

Naruto groaned. "Listen here you old geezer, why don't you learn to keep quiet."

"Says the loud mouthed little runt."

Naruto tried to ignore the man as he slid back into the water. He closed his eyes and settled down before a tick mark appeared on his head once more. With furrowed eyebrows, he turned to the old man who continued his giggling.

Naruto spotted a small hole in the wall near the man. "Hey what are you researching anyways?" he asked.

"I'm researching for my new book," the man said. "You may have heard of the _Icha Icha_ series, hmm?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit before it dawned on him. "That's the same series Kakashi reads!"

"Ah it is good to kn-"

"Those books are for perves," Naruto exclaimed as the old man fell to the floor, dumbfounded by the Genin's statement. "If you write those, you must be a bigger perve than Kakashi."

"I take offense to that kid," the man said as he rose to his feet. "I am not a pervert." Naruto's eyebrows rose at the statement and the man's entire shift in demeanor. "I am a super pervert! I am the Sato no Kyoki, one of legendary Sannin and world famous author. I am the great Toad Sage Jiraiya," he exclaimed, striking a poise.

Jiraiya looked down on the boy with a quizzical look. "What? Didn't like my explanation? Was it the poise? I have to admit that is less heroic than I'd liked it to be. Your thoughts?"

"More like Pervy Sage. I think you belong in an insane asylum," Naruto muttered. "You can't be one the Sannin. I have to admit, you look the right age but I would think one of the Sannin would be more . . . how to put this . . . in shape."

"Are you calling me fat kid?" Jiraiya asked with a tick mark on his head.

"Well you look like you haven't trained in a while, that's for sure." Before Naruto knew it, there was a ball of swirling energy in front of him. The white haired man just held it out in front him. Naruto looked at it some more before it burst and sent him flying across the bath and into the pool.

"That should teach you respect for your elders kid," Jiraiya shot back. "Now leave me alone. This purple haired bombshell just walked in."

Naruto hit one of his ears to clear water out before what the man said fully processed. Immediately he hauled his butt to the man's side. "You can't peak on my sensei like that," he exclaimed.

"Sensei?" Jiraiya asked with a curious look on his face. Suddenly a lecherous smile appeared on his face. "Oh you two must be ninja from Konoha. No wonder she is so well toned. All that training really did pay off," he said with a giggle, returning to his peeping hole.

Naruto could hear his teeth grind together. Obviously telling the man to stop wasn't going to work. Maybe he could move him, but he was obviously bigger and if he was who he said he was then he would be stronger. An idea popped into his head before the voice of his sensei came into the forefront.

 _Anko-sensei said not to use jutsu, but I can't just let him peak in on her like this. Can I? She wouldn't mind, after all she said she didn't like Konoha for this specific reason._ Nodding to himself, satisfied with his answer, Naruto snuck up behind the Toad Sage.

Jiraiya didn't know what hit him. One moment he was peeping through a hole, giggling like a school girl, and the next he was hurtling through the air. He looked down to see the blond boy smirking and waving up at him. Before he could yell at the kid, he was descending back down, but not where he wanted to be landing.

He splashed down into the hot spring. He rose up out of the water and shook his hair before hearing shouts and screams. He looked around him with a little drool coming out of the side of his mouth. "Well hi ladies," he said as he waved in a bit of zombie-like state. He gulped when his gaze met that of an infuriated Anko.

Holding an arm around her chest to keep his leering gaze off of her, she glared daggers at the man. "Were you peeping on us?" she hissed.

Jiraiya backed up when he felt the chakra flare up and fire seemed to shoot out of the Tokubetsu's eyes. "Well I wouldn't say 'peeping'. That is such a negative word. I was more doing research for my next book."

"Your next what?!"

From the other side of the wall, Naruto winced as he heard his sensei screaming. What followed next could only be described as chaos, calamity and a comedy of errors.

•••••

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from the report with a glare. Standing in front of him were three shinobi, two with a sheepish look on their face and another that wouldn't even look at him.

"Thousands of dollars in damages, not to mention the money that the resort will lose with lost customers," he said. With each word Anko winced while Jiraiya just continued to smile sheepishly. "They have agreed to lift the shinobi ban on the resort after Konoha has fully paid for all damages, both to their facilities and their guests. Along with pest control. It seems they are still finding snakes around the hot spring, Anko. With that said, I doubt you three will ever be let back in."

He looked over the two older shinobi. "I expect more from two high ranking ninja of Konoha. To act in such a childish manor is embarrassing."

"Childish?" Anko cried out. "He was peaking on me and the other women. He's the one that was acting childish. I was just defending my personal space."

"And instead of getting security you commence with the destruction of private property in an attempt to," Hiruzen stopped to look down at his notes, he shuttered, "'take his family jewels' as you so elegantly put it. Tell me, does that seem reasonable to you? No it's not," Hiruzen said, cutting off the kunoichi. "With that said I cannot blame you for protecting your privacy, still you will have to help pay. Ten percent off all your mission fees will be given to the resort until Konoha has paid the debt."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Anko said with a bow. If she was being honest, this was more like a slap on the wrist. She was coming out smelling like a rose in her opinion.

"Now there is the matter of you Jiraiya," Hiruzen said with a glare. "Not only will you be expected to pay a large sum of the damages, because I know you can afford it, you will take Anko's job as Naruto's sensei until her round of the Chunin Exams are finished."

"What?" Naruto and Jiraiya shouted in unison. Anko just stood there in confusion. She was getting a way better deal out of this than expected. While, yes, it would be boring without her student around, she still had a lot to do for the upcoming Chunin Exams that were a little over a week away. She was going to ask around the T&I Division for someone to take Naruto under his or her wing for a week, but it seemed she wouldn't need to anymore.

"Sounds reasonable to me," Anko chirped.

"But sensai I don't want to be taught by this perve," Naruto argued.

Anko put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked at him. "Naruto, this is Jiraiya of the Sannin, the sensai of the Yondaime. He can teach you a lot of things I never could. Besides it isn't permanent. Relax gaki."

Naruto grumbled some more and lowered his gaze again. He was not liking the arrangements. Hiruzen, for his part, was starting to get worried. The little outburst was the first words Naruto had spoken since the trio had arrived. He hadn't even made eye contact or called him 'Jiji'. Something felt wrong.

"Naruto-kun, is something the matter?"

"I'm fine Hokage-sama," Naruto responded with a tinge of malice in his voice that made the Sandaime raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"We both know that is a lie," he commented. He barely heard the muttering under the boy's breathe. "What was that Naruto-kun?"

"I said 'I was returning the favor'," Naruto said, his gaze coming up to meet the Hokage's.

Hirzuen looked into the eyes of the Genin. They were hardened. They lost their bright twinkle to them that made his face light up. No, they were dark, cold in their gaze. Sarutobi lifted his hand. "If you will please leave Naruto-kun and I alone for a minute," he paused and looked to the corner of the room that was hidden in shadows, "that goes for everyone."

Hiruzen waited for the rest of occupants in the room to leave before his voice turned softer. "Naruto-kun, what did you mean by that?"

Naruto thought everything was going to be the same when he returned, but seeing his Jiji, he only felt betrayal. He could feel the rumbling of the Kyubi in the back of his mind, reminding him of the lies he had been told his entire life. He felt hurt. The one person that he could lean on for his entire life, as long as he could remember, had been lying to him the entire time. It ate away at him.

"You've been lying to me my whole life," Naruto said, cutting straight to the chase.

"That is an alarming accusation Naruto-kun. What makes you thin-"

"I met the Kyubi," he said. He didn't wait for a response. "On the mission, during a fight with a squad of enemy ninja, I met him. I saw the cage he was sealed in and he told me everything."

Hiruzen had to steel his nerves. Naruto's anger had switched to hurt and it showed on his face. "You have to understand Naruto-kun-"

"I always asked you why the people hate me and you said it because they didn't understand. I thought it was because I was an orphan and you never once corrected me. You have been lying to me my whole life," he yelled in frustration.

"Naruto-kun settle down." Hiruzen tried hard to make his voice ring with authority, but his own emotions were getting in the way. "I did what I thought was best for you, for your own good."

Naruto chuckled as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. "So I wasn't told about my clan for my own good? I wasn't told I may have family out there, that I wasn't some no name trash like I was told, for my own protection? What else have you lied about?" Naruto's eyes widened when a realization hit him. "My parents. You know who my parents are, don't you?" he excused with a finger shakily pointed at the other occupant of the room.

"It isn't that simple Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said.

"Stop with the political jargon and stop calling me that," Naruto roared. "Tell me who my parents are."

"I can't do that Naruto-kun."

 **"He lies Kit,"** the Kyubi snarled from inside of Naruto's mind. **"I told you. All the shinobi of the Leaf know how to do is lie. You can't trust him. He knows who your parents are. Still he won't tell you."**

"You know who my parents. I deserve to know. They are my parents," Naruto shouted. "After all the lies, after all the pain you put me through, I deserve to know. You were one of precious people old man. I TRUSTED YOU."

Hiruzen looked away, tears began to fall from his eyes. Before he could answer the young boy, he heard the door to his office fly open and slam shut, leaving him alone. He looked up when his office doors creaked open to reveal Jiraiya with a sympathetic look on his face.

"You ok old man?" he asked.

Hiruzen grabbed at his robe where his heart was. It ached. He truly saw Naruto as family and for him to hear the pain in the Genin's voice hurt. "You got what you wanted. He's under your tutelage now."

"You're ignoring my question," Jiraiya pointed out. "Are you ok?"

Hiruzen opened the bottom drawer of his desk with a key, one he made sure never left his person. He pulled out two scrolls, each with a name written on them. Those of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. "Tell me, have I done their memory wrong Jiraiya? Minato asked me to have the villagers see him as a hero, not a monster. He doesn't even know his own parents. Did I do him wrong?"

"We both have messed up," Jiraiya said as he walked over to the window that pointed to the Hokage Monument. His gaze settled on the stone visage of his long-since deceased student. "I'm his godfather. I was suppose to teach him like I did Minato and yet my first meeting with him was in a hot spring under a ploy so I could teach him. I had a chance earlier but was late, you had a chance to tell him before he found out, about everything, and you didn't. We both have sins we have to pay for."

Hiruzen's eyes traveled to the picture of Minato from the day he was appointed the position of Hokage. "I just hope I live long enough to right at least one of those sins."

•••••

Jiraiya walked along stairs that rose along side the Hokage Monument until he saw the mop of blond hair he sought. He meandered over to boy and stood behind him.

"What do you want?" the boy questioned.

"The file your sensei gave me said I'd be able to find you here. On top of the Yondaime's head. Seems it was right. Quite a view from up here," said Jiraiya with a small smile.

"Still doesn't answer my question."

"And it also seems that those interrogation techniques haven't quite kicked in. Subtlety is the best policy in that game kid." Jiraiya's chuckling ended when he noticed it was being accompanied. "I came to talk to you Naruto. You shot out of the Hokage's office like a bat out of hell. Guessing it wasn't a very soothing chat."

"He's lied to me my entire life," Naruto spat. "So no, it wasn't."

Jiraiya sighed and finally took a seat next to the boy. "He did what he thought was right. He never meant to hurt you Naruto. Sometimes we make decisions that don't turn out right. Not every plan can go right."

Naruto kept his gaze forward. "He could have changed his mind when he saw it wasn't working."

"Sometimes we wish so hard for something to be true that we don't see what is right in front of us. It happens to everyone. Doesn't mean that he hates you or wants to see you fail. Just means he's human," Jiraiya tried to explain. "He was hurt when you left the office. You may not believe it, or want to hear it, but he cares about you a lot kid. He wouldn't have been hurt if he didn't."

Silence fell between of the duo. Naruto not wanting to talk and Jiraiya trying to pick the right words to use. He shrugged. Might as well try and bust him out of his self-pity. "How about we talk about the training you will do under me? Maybe one of the Yondaime's jutsus aye?"

"Why would I want to be trained by the student of the man who lied to me and the sensei of the man who sealed a demon inside of me?"

Jiraiya visibly winced at the way Naruto talked about his sensei and the boy's own father. He had a lot of work to do. "You think he made you into a weapon?"

"Why else would he seal a demon inside a newborn child?" Naruto shot back.

 _More reasons than you know kid_. Jiraiya patted the ground, the top of his student's head. "Minato would never make someone into a weapon. He knew what that felt like." Naruto looked up quizzically at the older man. "Minato was seen as a weapon by several of the civilians, it is one of the reasons they loved him so much. To them he was The Flash, an enemy no one could beat. He got frustrated that people saw him for that and not for the man he was. He valued the life of the shinobi more than the skills or power they had. Minato was a good man; he gave his life for this village, for you kid. He may have placed you with a heavy burden, but he did what he thought was best."

"Then why does everyone still see me as a monster?" Naruto questioned.

"Because they fear what they do not understand," Jiraiya said sadly. "We all do in some way or another. Our job is to move past the hate, move past the anger, bitterness and evil of the world and reach understanding and peace with those around us. To do that though, we can't harbor hate in our own hearts Naruto. You may feel like the old man betrayed you, but I think, if you really looked deep inside of you, he'd still be someone close to you."

Jiraiya smirked when he saw the corners of Naruto's lips turn up ever so slightly. He turned and looked over the Sannin member once more. "So . . . one of the Yondaime's jutsus?"

•••••

Kakashi walked rummaged through his pocket until he came upon his house key. He slipped it into the lock and turned it until he heard a click. He pushed the door open and walked through the small hallway of his apartment, the entire time with his nose in an orange book.

He stopped at the entrance that led to a small living room. "It is rude to enter a house uninvited," he said nonchalantly. The lights flickered on to reveal Anko sitting in a chair with a pair of folders placed on a nearby coffee table. "Yo."

"You look like shit," Anko said, skipping the pleasantries.

Kakashi was battered and worn out. His Genin, Sasuke, had requested a C-ranked mission. It was suppose to be a simple guard detail, but it was anything but easy. Facing off against a Jonin, let alone a member of the Seven Swordsmen, two Chunin and another highly skilled shinobi, had left the silver haired man worn out. The mission was a success, but his team was beat up pretty badly. Sai and Sasuke were in the hospital with minor injuries while Sakura was a little rattled. But they would back up and ready for the Chunin Exams he was sure.

"Tough mission," he answered. He took a seat on the opposite side of the room of Anko, his nose still in his book. "And how was your mission with Naruto?"

"Eventful," Anko stated. "Ran into Osuushi of the Rock. I will be taking his name out of our Bingo Books here shortly." Kakashi's one visible eyebrow rose at the statement. "But that wasn't even the most interesting part. It seems that Osuushi took particular interest in my student, having information I was not privy of."

"Then why come to me?" Kakashi's question was answered when he heard a thud on the table in front of him. He moved his book sideways to see a folder sitting in front of him. He went back to his book with a bored expression on his face. "Naruto's file kept by the ANBU. Quite risky taking it out of their Headquarters isn't it?"

"When you work with the head of the T&I Division you earn a couple of favors," Anko answered dryly.

"Still doesn't explain why you are here."

"There are two names that feature prominently in his file. Hokage-sama who looked after him and even helped him enter the academy. No real shocker there, it is rather well known. What really was a surprise was an ANBU member by the codename Inu. That would be you Kakashi." She accented her point be throwing an even larger file, bursting at the seams, on top of Naruto's. "Your file looks like a squid used it as target practice, but there were several missions that weren't redacted and they were all the same one. Bodyguard duty for Uzumaki Naruto. A mission given to new recruits requested by one of the most decorated ANBU the village has ever seen, and I want to know why."

"It was an easy mission," Kakashi responded flatly. "Gave me a break from all the hub-bub of normal duty to enjoy life and catch up on my reading."

"Cut the shit," Anko roared. She leapt from her seat and took the book from his hand and threw it across the room, the sound of breaking glass accompanying the banging of the wall. She looked back at the Jonin with fury in her eyes. "You quit the ANBU to take a team and then proceed to fail each and every one of them until you make another request, one you adamantly fought for. You wanted to teach the boy and when that didn't happen you asked, nearly begged, for me to give him to you for a few days. Tell me why now or I swear to Kami there will be blood."

Kakashi eyed the Tokubetsu. "You know you couldn't take me in a fight Anko."

Anko reached into her trench coat and produced a kunai. She spun it around her fingers. "Whoever said that 'hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn' never met me. I took down Osuushi, and if it means I can help my student, I will take you down too."

Kakashi sighed. "He reminds me of Uchiha Obita." Anko backed off a bit when she heard the explanation. She didn't know the Uchiha well, but of what she remembers Naruto did resemble his personality. "His energy and charisma, his never give up attitude. It brought me back to a time I missed. I thought I would be doing his memory proud if I nurtured someone who resembled him so much."

Kakashi heard the sound a kunai fly by his ear and embed itself in the wall behind him. "I will accept that for now," Anko said. "But I will return and next time I expect more answers. Whatever game you and the Hokage are playing ends. He has been through enough, the lies, the secrets end today and whatever it is you're hiding I will find it."

Kakashi heard the door slam. His eyes danced over to a picture that had fallen. He went over and picked it up. His features darkened when he saw a crack running down the face of his sensei and his friend. "Forgive me sensei," he said quietly.

 **AN: So this chapter is obviously introducing the Chunin Exams to a small extent. I have an idea for the first two parts of the exam but I want your input on what to do with the third portion. I could really go either way and it isn't something that I particular care for. I am opening a poll to see where to go with that portion of exams. So jump to my profile and vote! Would like to have input. Another note: the poll will stay up for maybe two weeks to a month, roughly that time interval.**


	15. What's in a Name?

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter and this one was actually pretty fun to write for me and I hope you like it. If you guys didn't notice the Author's Notes at the end, then head over and vote for how the third round of the Chunin Exams should be written. I am really excited to get to that part.**

 **Quick shout out to my beta reader, TrickedPast, for beta reading this and going over it. I really appreciate your hard work!  
**

 **As always please, please, please review. Whether it is positive or negative, your thoughts, your likes, dislikes or whatever, tell me! I love feedback and I want to hear your thoughts.**

 **So, without further delay, sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 15**

The med-nin looked down with a tick mark pulsating on her forehead. Each time she would go down to treat her patient, the injured limb twitched causing her to stop and wait for it to settle. Finally, having lost her patience, she yelled at her patient, "Stay still for two seconds!"

"I'm trying," Naruto whined. "This thing is doing it on its own." Naruto winced as he felt his hand twitch again. It was rather troubling to him that he could feel his hand move, but he had no power over it. He looked down to see his right hand covered in burn marks, bruises and cuts that had begun to scar. He sighed when the medic yelled at him again at the involuntary movement.

Jiraiya chuckled from his spot in the doorway. While he was amused by the current situation, he was more impressed than anything. _For the kid to pass the first two levels of the Rasengan in three days is incredible, but with his chakra control, the third part may take a while. Still doing better than when Minato tried to teach me._ Jiraiya chuckled again when he remembered how he used the 'hand twitched' excuse to get a feel for his old teammate's 'gifts'. He was then sent through a wall but he would do it again in a heartbeat.

Jiraiya moved out of the way as the medic made her way out of the room, stomping as she went. "Done. He's all yours," she spat.

"Charming isn't she?" Jiraiya chuckled when he saw the look on Naruto's face. It was filled with annoyance.

"Like I would want to spend more time in this place than I already have to." Naruto looked down at his bandaged hand. He couldn't even see his skin anymore, but maybe that was a good thing. He would probably bleed on anything he touched had it not been for the wrappings.

Naruto's eyebrows quirked up when he heard a chuckle from deep inside his mind. _What do you want fur ball?_ Naruto thought angrily.

 **"You amuse me Kit. I told you to stop, did I not?"**

Naruto was about to respond when he could feel the Kyūbi return to whatever he was doing, taking himself away from Naruto's consciousness. Naruto grumbled a bit about his tenant before he looked up to his adjunct sensei. "So how am I doing?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Not bad. The first two levels of the Rasengan went well, but they are the easiest. While your chakra control is decent, you still have issues maintaining the large amount of chakra at the steady rate needed for the jutsu. That's what makes the third stage the most difficult." Jiraiya looked on as Naruto just nodded his head.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Naruto chirped as he leapt from his bed and bounded to the door. "Let's get back at it." He gagged as he was pulled back by the collar of his shirt. He was lifted until his feet dangled off the ground.

"Hold on their kid," Jiraiya said. "While I commend shinobi who work their butts off to get stronger, I don't condone going against the word of a med-nin. No Rasengan training for the rest of the day."

"But I almost had it," Naruto shouted. "By the end of the day I'll have it, dattebayo!"

"The last time you tried the jutsu, it sent you into a wall and made your hand look like an Inuzuka ninken used it as a chew toy," Jiraiya deadpanned. "Besides, I've been babysitting you for the last three days, so I've been getting behind on my research."

"You're just going to be giggling like a school girl from a tree over the baths," Naruto pointed out. "How is that research?"

Jiraiya set the Genin down on the ground and stood straight. He put one hand behind his back while the other one went to his mouth as he coughed. "You see Naruto, the female anatomy is very complex. The curve of the hips, the way the chest-"

"Alright. I get it, I get it," Naruto said. He had his eyes closed and was waving his hands around. "Just stop talking and get to your peeping Ero-sennin."

"I told you not to call me that!" Jiraiya said with a glare.

"And you peaked in on my sensei when I told you not to," Naruto countered. "As far as I'm concerned, you earned that nickname, and it isn't going anywhere any time soon." Naruto was about to continue his rant when something popped into his head. "Wait, what am I gonna do when you're being a perv?"

"I can answer that." The pair turned to see Anko walking through the hall of the hospital. Jiraiya drooled a little when he saw Anko's hips sway. Anko scowled at the Sannin. "I'd wipe that drool off your face before it's accompanied by some blood." Jiraiya jumped a bit and wiped the drool with his sleeve. Anko nodded with a content smirk on her face. "That's what I thought. As for you maggot, you will be taking a mission. Something to earn some cash and keep you busy."

"But what about training?" Naruto whined.

"Unless you want to go back to Shogi, then the answer is no." Anko held in a chuckle when she saw Naruto fake gag. "My thoughts exactly. So you will be taking a mission, something that will get you up and moving."

"Okay, sensei," Naruto finally surrendered. He followed Anko, as she began to walk towards the Hokage Tower.

•••••

"So what team am I gonna be with today?" Naruto asked. He looked up to Hiruzen who gave him a soft smile. While their relationship wasn't like it had been before his first mission, it was improving.

He had taken Jiraiya's words to heart and once he actually thought about it – much to the annoyance of his tenant— he admitted that Hiruzen was still important to him. With that said, he still showed minor hostility toward the man. Naruto knew that the old man wasn't telling him everything and it hurt. Still, he tried to move past it.

"No team today gaki," Anko responded for the Hokage. "Teams Seven, Eight and Ten are preparing for the Chūnin Exams happening in a week. They aren't taking missions until after the Exams."

"So does that mean we're preparing for the Exams too sensei?" Naruto asked with hopefulness in his voice. His enthusiasm turned to horror when Anko shook her head. "No? Why not? I'm just as good—or better— than the rest of the rookies and I held my own against three Iwa Chūnin!"

There was an audible gasp heard about the room. Anko slapped her forehead and pulled her hand down her face. "Dammit gaki! That was classified for Kami's sake. You have got to learn tact."

"Wait, one of our teams was attacked and we have done nothing about it?" one of the Chūnin, that aided in assessing assignments asked, as he shot out of his chair. "This is an outrage! Something has to be done!"

"Silence," Sarutobi said, giving the man a glare that backed his command. "This is classified information. You are lucky you are among shinobi of the Leaf, Naruto. Had there been foreign, or even domestic, dignitaries here then we could be pushed into a fight that the village cannot afford. Quiet your tongue next time."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Naruto said with a slight bow.

"Good. Now about the Chūnin Exams," Hiruzen said as he pulled out a folder. "Anko, I must agree with Naruto. There seems to be no reason that he cannot join a team who is short a member."

"It would end in failure," Anko cut to the point. She hit Naruto over the head, all the while keeping eye contact with her superior, in order to keep him quiet. "The Chūnin Exams are about teamwork, at least the second phase is. I would be putting my student in a precarious position if he goes in blind. Not knowing the skills, personality or functionality of a team could result in failure, and with the Chūnin Exams, that can mean death. He has worked with Team Seven, Eight and Ten. It is my plan to wait for the next one, when there is a possible opening, for him to join one of those teams. Also it could be deemed an unfair advantage given who is proctoring the first and second exam."

Hiruzen's eyebrows rose at the last comment. He had agreed with the Tokubetsu up until this point. "And what makes you say that?"

"Morino Ibiki has worked with Naruto in the past, specifically on interrogation. This allows for Naruto to look past Ibiki's threats, personality and demeanor when proctoring the exams. This gives Naruto a mental edge. Next, is my own examination. While it is true that knowing me isn't all that helpful, knowing the landscape is. Naruto knows the Forest of Death almost as well as I do since we have been tracking in there for a while. While I trust my gaki, he could also set up traps the night before. This would put him in a position where success would be too easy and his skills not properly tested," Anko said, finishing her explanation.

Hiruzen bridged his fingers in front of him. He examined the mission file once more, taking in the three Chūnin Naruto had fought. Assuming the descriptions given matched their intel—he never knew what to make of information gathered from Iwa—it was actually quite impressive. He took a look again at the purple haired woman and saw the determination in her eyes. He simply nodded. "Very well. Your decision has been noted and Uzumaki Naruto will not participate in this Exam."

"What?!" Naruto shrieked from his spot next to Anko. She hadn't silenced him this time. "This is crazy! I can go head-to-head with anybody. I've proven that, Anko-sensei!"

"The Chūnin Exams are about more than personal skill maggot," Anko lectured. "They are to test leadership qualities as well by working in a three man squad. Would you be able to demonstrate that with two people who you don't even know, not to mention what they are capable of?" Anko patted Naruto on the head when she got the answer she was looking for. "Exactly. Besides the next one will be in Sunagakure. It would be nice to get out of the Leaf wouldn't it?"

Naruto looked at his sensei skeptically before nodding his head. "Hai that would be nice. But then what am I going to be doing during the Exams?"

"You will be helping Ibiki and myself," Anko explained. "Ibiki wants you there to test your observational skills and if anything happens then I know I have someone else to help out during the second test who knows the training ground well too. Understand?"

"Hai, but then what are we doing today?" Naruto asked.

"Sorry gaki, you're flying solo for this mission," Anko said with a smirk. "I've got a few meetings to attend so I won't be there for this one. Good luck."

Before Naruto could even utter a word, Anko was out the door. Naruto sighed and turned back to Hiruzen. "Okay old man. Whatcha got?"

Hiruzen chuckled before finally opening up the D-ranked mission scrolls. A happy glint appeared in his eyes when he saw the top mission. "Well there is one that stands out above the rest Naruto-kun. Considering you are one of the few shinobi to fulfill this mission with relative ease, I cannot see why it wouldn't be perfect for you."

Naruto's eyes widened at the explanation of his potential assignment. His began to shake his head slowly before he began waving his hands with more fury. "No, uh-uh, not a chance, not gonna happen in a million years."

"But he will only listen to you Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said with a chuckle.

"Still not going to happen," Naruto responded. "The last time I got this 'mission' I got sent over the edge of the Hokage Monument!"

Hiruzen had to cough to avoid bursting into laughter. It was a rather amusing mission report to read and every now and then the group that helped him assign missions would read it. It never failed to bring them to laughter.

"It is either that or chasing Tora again," Hiruzen said, returning to his serious tone of voice.

Naruto groaned. "Give me the damn babysitting mission," he mumbled.

"Consider it training for when you have your own three man squad," Hiruzen suggested to the young Genin.

"More like cruel and unusual punishment," Naruto grumbled as he left the tower.

It wasn't that he hated Konohamaru or his friends. He did like them, but they could be a handful. The first time they had snuck up on him at Ichiraku's, he thought it was funny. The fifth time? Not so much. Then there was the time he woke to the three trying to climb down the face of the Shodaime. Naruto had run after them and tripped on the line they used to steady themselves. He had spent the next day in the hospital all the while being taught Shogi by Anko. He wasn't happy.

Naruto began to make his way over to the academy practice ground where Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi would occasionally practice throwing wooden shuriken and making their infamous square rocks. Naruto had to chuckle at that one. He had them following him around town for three hours until he walked them over a pile of shit left by one of the Inuzuka ninken. He had been laughing for hours about that.

Naruto took a peak around and didn't see them, but he could smell them. Konohamaru smelled like the smoke that was a normality in the Sarutobi clan. He quit using his nose when caught their trail. He wasn't surprised when it began to wind its way to the middle of town. He was walking along a fence line until his ears picked up on something.

Naruto felt his anger begin to rise when he recognized the struggling sounds of Konohamaru and the voice of another person, threatening the young boy. Naruto jumped off the fence he was on and sprinted toward where he heard the scuffle. He pulled out a kunai and crossed his fingers in front of himself.

•••••

Konohamaru kicked and squirmed but nothing seemed to work. Gripping him by his favorite scarf was a man with purple paint on his face that, along with the black hood with pointed ears, made him resemble a cat. He was clad in all black with something wrapped on his back that was nearly as tall as he was. On his hood was a hitai-ate from a village Konohamaru didn't recognize.

"Come on Kankuro," a blonde said from his side. "Let him go." She wore a purple shirt that showed a part of her shoulders and the mesh shirt she wore underneath. Her hair was pulled into four ponytails on her head with her hitai-ate around her neck. She carried a large fan on her back.

"Relax Temari," Kankuro said, his gaze never leaving Konohamaru. "He won't be here for a while; might as well have some fun."

"Fine. Do what you want, but don't say I didn't warn you," Temari said.

Kankuro chuckled. His grip tightened before he froze. He felt the blade before he heard it go by and embed itself in the fence behind him. Konohamaru fell on his butt. He looked up in shock as the robed teen touched his cheek and found it was cut along with his hood.

The Suna-nins' heads shot to where the kunai had been thrown. There, crouched on the top of the fence, was a blond haired boy. He glared at them as he tossed a kunai in the air with a hand that was completely covered in bandages.

"Konohamaru go to the academy and wait for me there." Konohamaru didn't hesitate. In a flash, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were gone. Naruto took a look back to the still stunned foreign Genin. "You two bit off more than you could chew."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that runt. We'll see how tough you are after I kick your ass," Kankuro shouted as he reached for his puppet on his back. He was stopped when he felt a blade press against his neck.

"This fight is over." Kankuro's eyes hesitantly went to his side to see Naruto snarling behind him.

Temari whipped around when she heard the statement. _How did he get there? Wait, where's the kunai he just threw?_ She reached for her fan but was stopped when her hand was grabbed and ripped behind her. She winced when she felt the point of a kunai at the base of her neck.

"That goes for you too," the clone said from his spot behind Temari. The clones popped when it was clear the three younger kids had gotten far enough away. "You are here as guests," Naruto turned to the two Suna-nin as he talked. "It is rude to threaten an ally. Don't do it again." Naruto turned and looked up at a tree that hung over the alleyway. "That goes for you as well."

Kankuro and Temari's eyes followed the Genin's gaze and froze when they were met by the cold stare of their youngest brother. Hanging upside down was a red headed young teen dressed in black with a white sash over one shoulder and a leather strap, that held a large gourd on his back, over the other.

The red head vanished in a swirl of sand. A single eyebrow rose as Naruto turned to see the sand swirling between the two Suna-nin, the fear evident on their faces. In his mind he felt the Kyūbi walk around his cage. Something had unsettled the creature and it had the same effect on Naruto.

 **"Be careful of that one Kit. He smells of bloodlust,"** the Kyūbi growled from inside his tenant. **"He's dangerous."**

Naruto growled like the Bijū. _Tell me something I don't know. Did you see his eyes? They were cold, ruthless._

 _ **If only you knew Kit. Shukaku has always driven his Jinchūriki into insanity. That fucking tanuki. But it may prove to be even more intriguing than I thought.**_ The fox snorted and returned to his cage. **"Just don't die Kit."**

 _You would think he'd have more advice than that…_ Naruto thought, but was snapped out of his thinking by the red-head.

"What is your name?" the boy asked with a monotone voice that sent chills up the blonde's back.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he responded. He saw the boy nod and turn his back. "It's rude not to return the favor."

Temari and Kankuro froze and turned back to the boy. They turned to their brother. He stayed still before acting in accordance. "My name is Sabaku no Gaara."

Naruto returned his kunai to the pouch on his hip, all the while keeping his eyes forward. Gaara unnerved him. It wasn't the bloodlust but the look in his eyes. _I've . . . I've seen that look. It's the same look that was in my eyes before I met Ishiri. So much pain hidden away behind them._

The pair just stared at each other until finally Temari put a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Come on Gaara. Baki-sensei is waiting for us." In truth she needed to get out of the situation. No one had ever stared Gaara down like that, not even their own father, the Kazekage. It made her want to puke.

Naruto sighed and fell to a knee when the trio had turned a corner. _Kami, if all the Genin are like that then the Chūnin Exams are no joke._

 _•••••_

An elderly woman hummed a tune as she swept the floor of her small clothing store. It wasn't much, mostly specializing in shinobi garments, but it was hers.

Hofuna Fuji was an average ninja in her day, a respectable career, a proud sensei, and a survivor of countless battles and wars. She had chosen that her career was her greatest love and never bothered to settle down. When she finally did retire as a ninja, she had decided to set up shop in an apartment above a store she had bought. While she wasn't making a lot it was enough to pay the bills.

She smiled when she heard the bell to her entrance ring. She looked up to see an irregular customer walk in. The purple haired lady looked around a bit before finally walking to the counter.

"Hello," Fuji chirped. "How are you today?"

The purple haired customer smiled herself. "I'm actually really frustrated."

The shop owner was shocked at the frank comment. She blinked before her mind finally caught up to the situation. "Can I help you with anything miss?"

"Why I think you are one of the few people in this village that can, actually."

The elderly woman was now weary of her newest customer. "And how is that?"

Anko smirked when she saw the woman put her guard up. She put both elbows on the counter and leaned forward. "Well, you see, I'm investigating something. The case has seemed to have gone cold, or simply been swept under the rug, but your name came up. Tell me what happened thirteen years ago."

"A lot of things happened thirteen years ago," the woman answered back with a fake smile. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"The night of the Kyūbi attack." Anko cut straight to the point. Her relaxed demeanor changed into one of seriousness. Her body went rigid and she set the woman with a glare. "You and a teammate were with the Sandaime Hokage when he found Uzumaki Naruto crying in the forest with the Eight Trigrams Seal on him. I don't want to go to the Hokage and your teammate died a month later on a mission near Iwa. I want to know what you saw."

"I'm sure you can read it in the files of that night," Fuji said with a wave of her hand. "It isn't a secret. I filed my report like the rest of the shinobi did that night."

"Yes I know. I did check out your report. I also know it's full of shit," Anko hissed. "You know more than you put in that report. All of your other files are told with more detail, like a story. This one was short and concise, it was practiced, it was audited. Why?"

Fuji sighed. She walked from behind her counter to her front door. She took the sign that said 'open' and turned it to 'closed'. She walked to a side door. "Follow me," she said and gestured for the Tokubetsu to follow her.

The pair walked up a staircase until they came to a door. Fuji opened it and stepped in to reveal a small apartment. It was quaint. A couch with two chairs around a coffee table made up the living room. The retired shinobi walked to one of the chairs and sat down before gesturing to the other occupant to join her. Anko found herself seated on the couch, looking at the woman.

"You want to know about the boy, am I correct?" Fuji surmised from the earlier discussion they had in her shop. "What does the information mean to you?"

"He's my student," Anko responded. "While he has been forthcoming with his life, what he's been through and the like, Konoha hasn't. No birth certificate, no lineage except for the surname, nothing at all that tells me about Naruto's past before that night."

"Not much to tell about that part," Fuji said with a chuckle. "He was a newborn at the time of the attack. What brings this about all of the sudden? The academy ended its year a while ago, why come now?"

Anko gritted her teeth. How much information could she reveal? _What the hell . . ._ "It seems Iwa has information about him that even he doesn't know. A rumor of sorts. One of the ninja talked about revenge for the Third War."

Fuji groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Had her teammate talked? No he wouldn't do that, but ninja have more ways than interrogation and spoken word to get information. The Yamanaka were living proof of that. "That is troubling isn't it?" She got up and went to look out her window that oversaw the shop. She took a peak out before closing the curtains.

"That big of a secret?" Anko asked with surprise.

"Conspiracy, rumors and lies. Sweetie, nothing compares to this shit," Fuji told her blankly.

"Then tell me what I want to know!" Anko barked. She was sick of waiting. She had finally gotten somewhere. After a week of searching and running around, after her confrontations with the ANBU, Kakashi and Ibiki, she finally had what she wanted in front of her.

"I can't do that."

Anko roared and flipped the coffee table that was in front of them. "This is bullshit!" she hollered. "Tell me what I want to know! I promise you it will be easier than the next forty-eight hours if you refuse to answer my questions."

"Yeah and in forty-eight hours I would be dead if I told you," Fuji said nonchalantly. The little outburst did nothing to scare or intimidate her. "What you are asking goes beyond any kenjutsu, S-ranked secret or clan hiden kept within the walls of Konohagakure. It could shake the political landscape of the country and bring more danger to the boy than good. It isn't that easy."

"Yeah and neither has been the maggot's life," Anko said as she pointed at the woman. "You knew the truth and you treated him differently. You were the one that gave him clothes when he needed them. You were there for him even if he didn't know it. What do you know that everybody else doesn't?"

"His name is even a conspiracy," Fuji continued, ignoring the last few inquiries of the raging kunoichi.

"Fuck his name!" Anko yelled. "Tell me what I want to know." All her interrogation training and techniques had been long thrown out the window. She allowed her emotions to get intertwined with her goal. She wasn't doing this as a levelheaded, elite member of the T&I Division. She was going at this like a sensei fighting for the life of her student's life, because, to her, that is exactly what was at stake.

Fuji calmly looked at the kunoichi and waited for her breathing to become even again. Anko was getting fed up. She turned to storm out of the apartment. She swung the door open but was stopped.

"There is a lot to learn about a person from their name."

Anko turned slightly so she was looking at the retired shinobi out of the corner of her eye. "How is that?"

Fuji shrugged. "A Hyūga is stuck up, a Nara is lazy, an Akimichi eats and a Sarutobi smokes. Take your pick, every name has an attribute that goes hand-in-hand with that name."

"And that tells me what?"

Fuji internally sighed. She was leaving a trail of breadcrumbs but this damned kunoichi wanted the entire loaf, something she couldn't give her, not blatantly at least. So she decided to continue on. "That tells you a lot. Specifically why the Yondaime chose your student as the Jinchūriki for the Kyūbi that dreadful night."

"Yes, yes, yes," Anko rattled. She rolled her eyes at the train of thought. "A strong life force, which translates into a long life to ensure that the beast wouldn't need to be switched into another vessel for a long time. Dense chakra to offset the effect the chakra of a Bijū can have on its Jinchūriki and finally the ability to recover quickly, couple that with the power of the Bijū, and you have a near unstoppable weapon that go from one battle to the next."

Fuji nodded her head. "All correct, but you left stuff out."

"Like what?" Anko hissed.

"Describe the appearance of a Nara."

"Black hair, light build and keeps their hair in a ponytail and some wear black eye liner," Anko answered.

"Hyūga."

"Darker hair, either brown, black or in some rare cases purple or dark blue. Medium build but can be quite tall and of course the pupil-less eyes," Anko said. She was being drawn into what the woman was saying. She was starting to see a pattern.

Fuji smirked. She finally saw the light bulb go off. "Uzumaki."

"Red hair…" Anko stopped. "Red hair and purple or green eyes. Red hair that is straight." Anko's eyes widened at the realization. Naruto had no traits of what an Uzumaki would portray. He had to have another parent who wasn't an Uzumaki.

"Namikaze."

Anko opened her mouth to answer but stood stock still as she processed the information. "Holy shit!" Anko yelled as she swung the door open and leapt out of the room, slamming it behind her. She opened the door and shouted at Fuji. "Thank you."

Fuji just chuckled when she heard the footsteps of the kunoichi stumble down the stairs. She went to the window and opened it to see the kunoichi vanish toward the direction of the Hokage Tower. She shook her head and headed back downstairs to her shop.


	16. The Underneath

**Hey guys! So to start I want to say that I am excited to begin the Chunin Arc of this story. One thing I'd like to point out is that some of the things in the arc, like the first exam, will be tweaked slightly. I want to stay somewhat true to the anime/manga but I want to put my own flavor into it. I hope you guys like how it comes out.**

 **Another BIG thank you to my betareader, TrickedPast, for reading through my newest chapter. I really appreciate it. If you guys have time you should head over to his profile and check out his stories, he's a cool dude.**

 **Please review! I have been thrilled with the feedback I've been getting, both praise and criticism. I strongly encourage you to review this fic. Tell me if I am making mistakes in my writing, if a character doesn't feel right, or if something just makes you go 'wow'. Tell me your likes and dislikes or your thoughts in general. I'd greatly appreciate it!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 16**

Naruto looked out the window and frowned. They were older than him, they were bigger than him, but he wouldn't get the chance to prove he was the better shinobi. So he sat in a meeting with members of the T&I Division led by Morino Ibiki. He hummed and nodded his head every now and then, pretending to be paying attention.

He had agreed to listen to his sensei; after all Anko always did what she thought was best for him, but that didn't mean he liked it. He always made the claim he would never back down to any challenge. When he saw Gaara the other day he had been scared, but he found himself training harder than ever the next day. There was something about the Suna-nin that made his blood boil over, his skin crawl and his stomach churn. The only thing he knew for sure is that the red-head made him want to become stronger.

He hummed again when he heard something that resembled a question before being hit in the head with a blackboard eraser. He shook his head to clear the white dust off his hair before turning to Ibiki.

"You are currently failing your test, Naruto," Ibiki said with a serious tone in his voice. "You are letting your own thoughts, wants and desires be placed before the mission at hand. You're letting us down." Ibiki inwardly smirked when he saw Naruto straighten up. Find a spot and press until it hurts. That was the code he used for interrogations. Naruto's was easy: he never wanted to let the people closest to him down.

"Sorry Ibiki," Naruto said with a slight bow of the head. "It won't happen again."

"As I was saying, you will be working as my assistant for this examination Naruto. Your job will be to collect the papers from the sentinels. Your job is also to try and catch as many infractions as the sentinels," Ibiki explained. "You will do this by reviewing the different lists of infractions with ones you collect yourself in your own mind. Understood?"

"Hai Ibiki," Naruto said with a slight nod. "And then, after the big spiel at the end, I give Anko the signal to come in, right?"

Ibiki nodded thoughtfully. "Just be sure to not be early. She has a bad tendency to have a quicker trigger than needed."

"At least that's better than Kakashi." The rest of the group chuckled at the quick remark from the blond haired Genin. "Speaking of my sensei, where is she?" Naruto looked around the room. She had been seated next to him during the beginning of the meeting, but seemed to have vanished.

Ibiki shrugged. "She said she had to make a quick trip somewhere. Something about unfinished business." Inside, Ibiki was sighing. _Whatever it is kid, you're right at the center of it._

•••••

"The kid is pretty bummed about being left out of this cycle of promotions, isn't he?" Jiraiya, who was leaning against a window, asked to the man behind a large desk. He turned to see a smoke plume rise above the stack of papers, all dealing with the Chūnin Exams set to begin in less than an hour.

Hiruzen peered over the papers to his student. "Naruto has never been one to back down from a challenge. He probably views this as more than just a promotion opportunity."

"Can't blame the kid really," Jiraiya said with a shrug. "I've read the files, well the new files. How did the old ones vanish again?"

"Training accident, according to Anko's report," Hiruzen said deadpanned.

"Yeah I've heard that excuse before. Anyway, judging by the reports from his latest mission and the skirmish with that Genin team earlier, he has a right to be upset. He has the tools to go toe-to-toe with anyone at those Exams," Jiraiya argued.

"Hai, but does that really surprise you?" Hiruzen asked, his eyes slugging through more paperwork. One bad thing about the Exams was the costs of housing for the candidates from other villages. It was customary for the host village to provide housing for the Chūnin-hopefuls, which usually meant a hotel room or two. Each year, Hiruzen was faced with the same complaints from local innkeepers. Of course they would be reimbursed, but still, they complained.

"Considering the kid's lineage, not at all." The pair looked at each other, a confused look mirrored their features. They turned to see Mitarashi Anko standing in the middle of the doorframe, a sneer adorning her features. "Intelligence Division code Romeo, Zulu, Foxtrot, Alfa, Tango." Suddenly an ANBU member appeared in a crouched position in front of her.

"Security level," he commanded rather than asked.

"Sierra," Anko answered without taking her eyes off her superior as he puffed away at his pipe.

"S-rank, strictly classified information," Hiruzen mused as he placed the piece of paper in his hand down. "Have the Exams already deteriorated to that level of concern?"

"Personally, Hokage-sama, I'd rather discuss this without ANBU or other listening ears." The others in the room turned to the aged shinobi. After a bit of contemplation, Hiruzen nodded his head. Anko waited as the room cleared out. As Jiraiya passed she grabbed his arm and whipped him back into the room. "You stay."

Jiraiya looked at his old sensei before taking a seat on the side of the desk. Hiruzen just looked back and gave him a shrug of ignorance. The pair looked on as the Tokubetsu went to the wall that had the pictures of the four Hokage lined-up in chronological order. A fond smile appeared on the purple haired kunoichi's lips as she took the picture of the Yondaime down.

Both Hiruzen and Jiraiya's eyes widened. Hiruzen quickly put up a security barrier around the office. He could tell this was going to get explosive. Anko seemed to float to the Hokage's desk, her smile never faltered.

"He was a handsome man. An honorable one too," she cooed. "Something you two haven't been." She yelled and slammed Minato's photo on the desk, breaking the glass, and sending the papers flying across the room. "He is Naruto's fucking father. How the hell could you not tell him who his own father was?"

"Now settle down there," Jiraiya said. He stood up and put his hands in front of him in order to try and calm the angered Konoha-nin. "Things got-" He was cut short when he was forcibly pushed back into his chair.

"And you, you old pervert, were the man's sensei. How could you sit back and watch as your own student's son, his living legacy, was treated like garbage? Did you ever once come by and introduce yourself?" Anko questioned. "No, you were out gallivanting around the whole damned Elemental Nations while he suffered. And if that wasn't bad enough, you decide to show up and take him in as a student. What, did you feel guilty that you left your student's son to live a hell not even a demon deserved so you came by and took pity on him? Or did you see the Yondaime in him once he finally began to show promise? Just wanted to teach another Hokage, huh?

"The kid has lived his entire life with people thinking he is garbage, while instead he should be seen as a genius, the legacy of his father. The kid has more skill and raw power than people twice his age. He should be seen as a genius, not as the dead last ninja in his class, someone less than trash. He should be seen as the Yondaime-sama's son, someone to be respected, to be appreciated. Whether he knows it or not, he has honored his father's memory. Something you two haven't done. You two should be ashamed of yourselves.

"And if you think, for one second, that you will ever teach him again, you had better kick that thought out of your head right now," Anko said as she stood in front of Jiraiya with a finger in his chest. "You get near my student ever again, and Kami help me, the Sannin will be down one member."

Jiraiya had heard enough. He had been berated time and again by women in his lifetime, some more deserved than others, but he was going to teach the boy dammit! Jiraiya batted Anko's hand away and stood up so he towered over her. There faces came together and he began his own rant.

"I won't be ordered or threatened by some upstart who thinks she has a say in the boy's education," Jiraiya announced. "I can teach him things that you have yet to even grasp. I can teach him the jutsu his father made famous, the seals that made even the Uzumaki jealous, and the legacy that he carries."

Anko growled and shot back. "How can you do that when you abandoned him? You don't give a damn about the boy. All you care about is the Yondaime's legacy, your own Kami forsaken legacy."

"You think I don't care about the kid?"

"You were out of his life for twelve fucking years!"

"If it hadn't been for me Iwa would have already gotten to him. You may not want to admit this, young lady, but I have been away for twelve years in order to keep him safe." Jiraiya saw the hesitation in the purple haired woman's eyes and pounced. "I have stopped multiple attempts by Iwa spies to infiltrate Hi no Kuni to scout the boy, to see if the rumors were true. Had it not been for me, he would have been assassinated long ago. I have come back in order to give him the skills to survive when the secret finally breaks, when the world will be gunning for him."

Anko growled and fired back. "That is still no excuse for the boy's heritage to be kept secret," she roared. "Secret or not, Yondaime's son or not, we are Konoha-nin. We protect our own, Kami dammit! The boy could have known. After all the hell he has been through he deserves this. He deserves to know."

"And then what?"

The pair turned to the silent member of the 'discussion'. They looked at Hiruzen, panting and gasping for breath after all the yelling they had just done. Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at his table with his fingers bridged in front of him, a look of discernment on his face.

"What was that?" Anko asked in disbelief. "And then what? Then the people will finally accept him. He'll get what he wants, what he's ever wanted, to finally be treated like an equal."

"Do you really think it will be that simple?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

"They worshipped the Yondaime when he was alive," Anko cried out. "When they hear that Naruto is his son then he will finally get the respect he deserves. His life can finally turn into something that resembles a normal one."

Hiruzen shook his head. "You interrogate, yet you still do not understand the human mind, Anko." Hiruzen sighed and continued. "Even if they admit that Naruto is Minato's son, which would be a stretch to begin with, they will always see him for his tenant. The perception of an individual is changed more readily, more commonly, than that of the populace. What drives them to view Naruto the way the people of Konoha do already, that of fear and misunderstanding, is something that cannot and will not be easily changed."

Anko bit her lip. She felt like a hypocrite. She had told Naruto to not worry about everyone else's opinion. She would still hold to that, but he didn't deserve the glares and harsh words he got. Not someone like him. In the short time she had been his sensei, she had become happier, she had more energy and trained harder and even started to smile in public. She couldn't change the way people saw her, she really didn't care anymore, but if she could help Naruto, her student, then she would fight tooth and nail to make it happen.

"I've paid for my sins and those of my sensei," Anko said in a uncharacteristically soft voice. "I have caused the death of Leaf shinobi in my own stupid quest for revenge, I have pushed away friends who have tried to help, who have tried to be there for me when I needed it. I saw what my sensei was doing and didn't stop it, never questioned it until it was too late. I have lived with all these regrets, all these burdens for so long. It hurts, it weighs heavily on me, but I won't let him be affected in the same way."

Anko looked up with vindication, passion and fury in her eyes. When she spoke it was with gusto. "He has paid for your sins, both of you. He has a pure heart, a clean soul and yet he suffers. His life, prior to this day, will forever hang over your heads. Whenever you see a picture of your successor, of your student, I hope you see Naruto's whiskered cheeks and large smile and I hope it haunts you till the day you die. He has paid for your sins, but not anymore. He is my student, and with Kami as my witness I swear that if anyone tries to lay a finger on him, even so much as cut a hair off his head, for the sake of vengeance against the Yondaime, I will strike them down even if I die with them."

Anko turned and walked out, but a voice kept her at the door. "Anko, you are to keep your tongue on all matters regarding the Yondaime Hokage, Uzumaki Kushina and the lineage of your student, Uzumaki Naruto. Is that understood?"

Anko turned back and gritted her teeth. "Hai, Hokage-sama." She didn't hesitate to swing the doors open and storm out of the office

Jiraiya watched as the many members of the office looked on at the kunoichi. He waved them off as they tried to return to their spots in Hiruzen's office. "There has been troubling realizations after our discussion with Mitarashi-san. These are matters better left for sensei and student." The old hermit didn't let them argue before he closed the door, cutting off all future discussions.

He looked back to Hiruzen who sat in his chair with a hand over his heart, gripping his robes for all they were worth. He had seen that hurt on his face when Naruto had left his office two weeks ago, except this one showed more pain than even Orochimaru's departure gave him. He walked over to the picture of his student and picked it up. He turned his back to his sensei so the man could no longer stare at the azure eyes that seemed to torture him. Jiraiya, himself, took a look at the picture and grimace at the crack that appeared on Minato's face. _Are you trying to tell us something Minato? Have we really disrespected your legacy?_

Jiraiya turned when he heard movement. He looked to see the movements of an aged soul, a worn body. The Sandaime left his pipe, turned on its side with ash spilling out, on his desk. He didn't walk like a proud leader but a fragile old man. He made his way over to the windows that over looked the village and the Hokage Monument. He put a hand on the window and his head bowed so he stared at the ground.

"What were you supposed to do?" Hiruzen looked up and turned to his student with a confused look. "If his identity were ever released he'd been hunted down and probably wouldn't have seen his first birthday. Had he been told his burden, he would have acted out, possibly left the village, or turned inward and shut himself off from the world, a lose-lose, if there was ever one." Jiraiya sighed before returning Minato's photo to the wall where it had previously hung. "Why do you think I never wanted the hat and the robes? Making that kind of decision can be devastating. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't."

"Still… she is right," Hiruzen said with a rasped voice. "He has suffered and I could have done something, I could have done more."

Jiraiya walked around to Hiruzen's desk and opened his bottom drawer where two scrolls were set. He picked them up. "You can still tell him about his parents, you can still fix your mistakes. You can give him his birth rights." Jiraiya gave a sad laugh as he tossed the two scrolls up and down. "I can still remember Kushina cooing about teaching him these techniques. Ranted and raved for an hour straight."

Hiruzen caught Kushina's scroll and looked at it with a forlorn smile. A tear fell from his eyes. "He acts like his mother."

"Looks like his father."

"And is as strong as hell like the pair of them." Hiruzen wiped the tears that began to fall from his eyes. He took a deep breath and turned back to face the Hokage Monument where his successor stared back at him. "He will know his parents. I will right my wrongs." He went to grab Minato's scroll but missed when Jiraiya pulled it back.

"Not this one sensei. This one is my responsibility. He was my student after all and I am the boy's godfather." The pair chuckled before Hiruzen returned to the chair and set the scroll back in his drawer and sealed it shut.

"How is he doing with the Rasengan, by the way?"

"The boy is truly Minato's son," Jiraiya said with a smile on his face. "He's almost got it."

Hiruzen nodded in approval. "Good. Very good."

•••••

Shikamaru looked around before his attention was brought to the doors of the classroom that was currently littered with Chūnin-hopefuls. It opened and he saw Team Seven walk in with Sasuke leading the way and Sai and Sakura on either side. He groaned when he heard his teammate begin fawning over the last Uchiha.

Ino wrapped her arms around Sasuke's shoulders from behind as she swooned. "So nice to see you Sasuke-kun. It's been forever. I'm glad to see Forehead hasn't killed you by now."

"What was that, Pig?" Sakura roared. "For your information we just got done with a C-ranked mission, and we survived just fine."

"Didn't know bandages and stitches were considered fine, nowadays." The two feuding girls turned to see Kiba smirking, with Akamaru on his head, yipping playfully. "Fine is carrying on the mission and not getting a scratch on you. We finished ours with ease."

Shikamaru sighed when he saw the discussion begin to disintegrate quickly but perked up when three other shinobi walked up. _Troublesome. Already drawing attention to ourselves._

"Quiet down, you're being an embarrassment." The group turned to see three Genin standing by them. One wore a green jump suit with orange leggings and a red hitai-ate around his waste. He had black hair in a bowl cut with large eyebrows. On the other side was a girl in a pink shirt and blue, baggy ninja pants. Her brown hair was done up in two buns on the top of her head. Hinata backed up a bit when she saw the third member. In between the other two was a teen with long brown hair in a cream colored jacket with brown shorts. He had the eyes of the Hyūga.

"To think Hokage-sama allowed rookies like you to compete in the Exams. You'll only get in the way," Neji said. He looked and saw Hinata hiding behind Kiba and sent her a glare. He chuckled when he saw her wince. "Pathetic. You'll be out of here before the first exam ends."

"Shows how much you know," Sakura said with pride in her voice. "Sasuke-kun is the Rookie of the Year. He can, and will, wipe the floor with you."

"Not to be rude but I believe you are going about this the wrong way, Sakura," Sai said with a hand in the air. "I read that the degradation of an opponent by using words to stir emotions or break confidence, known as trash talking, should be done by talking about yourself and not a teammate."

"Shut it, Sai," Sakura screamed. She was about to punch the Konoha-nin when she heard a chuckle from the girl of the older group.

"That's cute," Tenten exclaimed. "Neji here was Rookie of the Year last year."

Neji huffed before looking at the Uchiha. "But it seems there may be some potential in this annoying group. The Rookie of the Year should be a good warm-up."

"Doesn't matter anyways." The group was again interrupted and turned to see Shikamaru lazily standing next to Chōji with his hands in his pockets. "The most dangerous rookie isn't even going to be at these exams."

"What are you talking about Shika? Sasuke-kun is right here," Ino said with a gesture of her thumb.

"I believe he was referring to Naruto," Shino spoke up. "Or was I mistaken?"

"That baka? Really? He's got nothing on Sasuke-kun. He was the dobe, the dead last," Sakura pointed out.

"That was back at the academy, this is now," Shikamaru retorted back. "As far as we know, Naruto can have an arsenal of techniques and jutsu we have never seen. What makes him so dangerous is that he is a wild card."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "How is that?" he asked.

"No one knows what he is capable of," Shikamaru answered. "He brought Team Eight to their knees in minutes."

"Is that true?" Ino asked in mild shock.

"It was quick and decisive," Shino answered. "We didn't stand a chance."

"To top that off he has gotten something none of have gotten and that is one-on-one time with his sensei," Shikamaru continued. "He hasn't had to work on teamwork, only his own skills. Then there is the T&I Division. Ino, hasn't your dad mentioned him?"

Ino brought a finger to her chin and thought about it more thoroughly. "Now that you mention it, he has. I overheard him talking to your dad and Chōji's about Naruto's improvement. But what does that prove?"

"Everything. Think about it; he has been around high class Jōnin and Chūnin, learning under them. Who knows what they taught him. He's not like us, he doesn't have a hiden that can be easily looked up in the libraries and Bingo Books. Whether our clans admit it or not, our skill sets are known to some degree throughout the Elemental Nations. And everyone knows about Sai's ink techniques and Sakura's abilities," Shikamaru pointed out. "Then there is his other sensei."

"Other sensei?" Chōji asked in between bites of food.

"The one he got during the academy," Shino finished Shikamaru's thoughts.

"Exactly. In one summer he went from the dead last to being able to even push Sasuke in a spar. He's an enigma. That's what makes him the most dangerous."

Sasuke was seething on the inside. How was the dobe getting special attention while he had to deal with a lazy Jōnin sensei and two incompetent teammates? He was the genius, he was the one that should be getting the special attention not Naruto.

"Yosh! I would love to test my skills against such a difficult opponent," Lee stated with a fire in his eyes. "He sounds like a most youthful adversary."

"If he is so great, then why isn't he here?" Neji asked with a furrowed brow.

"H-h-he doesn't have a team," Hinata spoke softly.

"And I'm all for it," Shikamaru answered. "While this is a drag, I'd rather pass this Exam than face Naruto in an upcoming event. Get it done with and promoted while he can't participate."

The group turned when they heard a voice shout throughout the room. "Enough." Appearing in smoke was a group headed by a man in a black trench coat with men and women in grey suits behind him. What really caught the rookie's attention was the mop of yellow hair that was next to the man.

"You have five minutes to find the seat you were assigned when you registered for the exams or you will fail. Go," the man barked. Immediately the room erupted into chaos as the different Genin scrambled to and fro searching for their seats. Naruto had to fight back a chuckle and keep his composure.

His eyes darted along the group until they came upon their target. Sitting calmly and matching his gaze was Gaara. Their eyes never left each other's, until Ibiki finally spoke. Naruto snarled and turned his attention to the man.

"Welcome the first round of the Chūnin Exams. For many of you this will be where your journey ends," Ibiki announced. "The test is simple. Before you are nine questions, each worth a point. Unlike normal tests you will start with a score of ten. If you miss a question your score will drop to nine and so forth. There is one caveat. If you are caught cheating you will be docked two points. Caught cheating five times and you're out and so are your teammates."

Naruto looked around as the room was filled with gasps and hushed whispers. His eyes wandered until they passed a lilac gaze. He felt his features soften when he saw Hinata sheepishly wave at him. He kept his demeanor but indicated with a quirk of the lips he had seen her. Hinata blushed and returned her attention to Ibiki.

Morino chuckled inwardly when he saw the small interaction. His gaze sharpened as he continued. "One last thing: this is not just an individual test. You pass, or fail, as a team. Only the top teams will make it past the test and earn the right to continue and seek promotion." He smiled when he saw the look of fear flash across the candidates' faces. _It's just too easy sometimes._

"There are only nine questions on the test. Number ten will be given out when you have fifteen minutes left. Now I would like to officially begin the Chūnin Exams. Your tests start now." Ibiki gave them a sinister smile. "Good luck, you'll need it."

Naruto made his way to the desk Ibiki sat behind and stood at attention as he began to focus on the test takers. He felt his vision begin to increase and everything became clearer and seemed to slow down. He could see the fidget of every muscle, the quirk of every eyebrow when Genin realized the test was above their heads. _The only one I'd have a shot at is the code. With as many torture lesson as the T &I group put me through, they did teach me that much. I wonder how many teams came into this test already preparing to cheat their asses off?_

Ibiki took a sideways glass at his young assistant for the day. He noticed the yellow eyes and the black slit that appeared in them. They reminded him of the eyes of a cat. _Anko was right . . . What type of jutsu is that?_

Naruto knew the test would actually be easy for some. Sakura and Ino had the best test grades in their class, he knew it would be a cakewalk for them. Shikamaru was a lazy genius. When he wanted to be, he was the smartest person in the room. Hinata might answer one or two right, along with Sasuke, Shino and Sai. That only left Chōji and Kiba.

He quickly spotted Akamaru atop the Inuzuka's head. The young pup wasn't hiding the fact he was cheating but that wouldn't be caught by the sentinels. To them it would just be a curious ninken. Naruto saw the slight hits of Akamaru's tail on the boy's head. _Morse code? Clever trick Kiba._

He turned his attention to Chōji. After a bit of searching he found the Akimichi. Much to his surprise Chōji seemed to be cruising through the test. Naruto's eyebrows rose before he noticed something. Chōji's face muscles weren't showing concentration or understanding. He was thoroughly confused by the whole ordeal, like he wasn't taking his own test. Naruto immediately went to find Shikamaru and noticed the lazy Nara's posture and writing speed matched Chōji's. _Unless a sentinel was watching them both no one could tell Chōji was cheating. With so many desks and bodies Shikamaru's shadow could easily reach Chōji's. Seems Shika finally woke up and took something seriously._

His eyes wandered until they came upon Hinata once more.

Hinata felt like she was sinking. Sure the test had a few questions she could answer, a private tutor that her father had hired had finally paid off it seems. What really got her was the feeling of loneliness that seemed to wash over her. She didn't know where her teammates were, how they were doing, nothing. She looked up to the front and found Ibiki glaring back at her. Her eyes quivered and she quickly averted her gaze until they came to Naruto's. She squinted a little when she saw his eyes. For a second she could have sworn they were a sickly yellow.

She shook her head. She looked back and saw the same deep blue eyes she had come to admire staring back at her. Naruto simply smiled and nodded his head. He mouthed 'Hey' to the timid girl. Hinata made a slight wave before her shyness returned her to her test, but that is all she needed. She felt her fear and trepidation melt away as she attacked the rest of her test.

 _Amazing. With one look he calmed her nerves,_ Ibiki thought when the girl returned to her test and began ripping through it. _This kid is something special._

Seeing Hinata had returned to her test, Naruto's eyes went back to the rest of the classroom. That's when he started hearing numbers being called left and right. _Amazing I didn't even notice them cheat. How the hell did they pull that off?_ Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and went back to work, that's when a glint caught his eye. He squinted and saw the glint again and then another. He looked up to see a panel of mirrors hanging above a kunoichi from the Leaf. He looked back down and made quick eye contact with the girl in question. The one glance told her she had been caught.

Tenten, herself, sighed when she realized it was just the assistant, not a sentinel. _Damn how did that kid pick up on it?_ Seeing Lee had gotten the answers already, she decided to cut her losses. She folded her arms and cut the cords that were connected to the mirrors. She just hoped her little gizmo hadn't been caught by anyone else.

Naruto's eyes swept across the floor once more, some Genin had piped up and fought his ousting, but Tonbo had quieted him quickly enough. So Naruto kept on scanning, occasionally picking up a cheater or two and some would be sent off mere moments later. He stopped when he saw the Genin who had threatened Konohamaru the other day.

He felt his blood boil over until something caught his attention. Where was the object that he kept wrapped on his back? It seemed to be his weapon of choice. He wouldn't forget it or leave it somewhere. Naruto took a look around before he came upon a realization. _There are too many sentinels in here. There should only be 32 not 33._ He began to examine the sentinels until someone finally stood out. _What do we have here? I don't remember seeing you at the meeting . . ._

His thoughts were disturbed when that same Genin raised his hand. "Excuse me but can I use the bathroom? Sorry, but being nervous really makes my bladder go crazy."

"I'll take him sir," the suspicious sentinel said as he stood up from his chair.

 _Oh hell no. He's not gonna be getting away with that bullshit._ Naruto walked over to the fraud. "Ah sentinel-san, don't worry yourself. I'll take care of this, after all I am the assistant," as Naruto said it, he gave the sentinel a quick push back down to where he was seated. He brought his finger to his nose and pretended to scratch it. _Oil? Hmpf, almost pulled a fast one, Suna-nin._

Kankuro stood there stunned in disbelief. His plan had been fool-proof. Not a single sentinel had even gotten suspicious, but the same kid that got him yesterday had just dashed his plans. He took a quick glance to Temari and saw the same look of fear cross her face. _If we don't get past this test then the whole plan is up in smoke. Shit._

"Come on, Suna-nin," Naruto said. He took a pair of handcuffs that were connected to a rope and cuffed the older shinobi. He twisted them a little extra and smiled when the boy winced in response. "It's almost time for question ten. We can't miss the fun, can we?"

Temari had her jaw hung open. She began to get nervous when she heard the terrifying sound of shifting sand near her hand. She looked down and saw the sand begin to control her movements. Gaara had somehow managed to get the answers, but damn it creeped her out. _Just don't snap, Gaara._

Kankuro was beginning to panic. Not only had his plan failed, leaving Temari and himself high and dry without any answers, but the blond boy was making him nervous. He was forcibly pushed through the bathroom door and was swung around to face a snarling Naruto.

"Okay, spill everything," the Konoha Genin spat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kankuro denied adamantly.

"I want to know about your brother, Sabaku no Gaara, and I want to know now," Naruto ordered. "You are here with Sabaku no Temari as well, the three children of the Sabaku no Rasa, the Yondaime Kazekage."

"Seems like you know enough already," Kankuro fired back. He found out that was the wrong answer. He gagged when he was pushed back against the wall with a forearm across his chest, making it hard to breathe from the force applied.

"And that's all I know. I want to know why you fear him, why he reeks of bloodlust. Or else."

"Or else what?" Kankuro asked.

"I'll blow the cover of that puppet of yours."

"You're extorting me?" Kankuro cried out in shock. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Find your opponent's weakness, the one thing he fears the most, and press until it hurts," Naruto explained. He brought his head closer to Kankuro's and whispered in his ear. "And I found yours. How would it feel to be the reason the person you fear the most failed because you got caught cheating? I think he'd be pissed and then you'll be at his disposal to deal with as he sees fit." Naruto had to stop himself from squirming. He did not like interrogation, at least this way, but the scenario had called for it. He wanted information on the boy who made his skin crawl.

"Then kill me now because you aren't getting anything from me," Kankuro called Naruto's bluff. "You can't touch me. You're only an assistant and one with a personal grievance. The Leaf would be come under scrutiny if three prominent shinobi were expelled from the Exams by a mere Genin assistant who isn't even a sentinel and who is clouded by personal judgment."

Naruto growled and dropped Kankuro to the ground. The puppet user fell on the ground, he sat himself and looked at Naruto. Naruto sneered and crouched down to meet the Genin eye-to-eye. "Whatever game you're playing ends here and now. Understand?"

Kankuro looked at the boy with a glare of his own. He took a breath in and spat at his side. "Fuck off."

"Close enough." Naruto hoisted the Genin up and made his way for the door with Kankuro in tow.

"But I seriously need to go!"

"And I wanted information. Sometimes we don't get want we want."

Kankuro winced as Naruto tightened his grip on the Genin's arm and ushered him through the door of the bathroom and back through the hallways. Naruto pushed the door open and looked over to the hidden puppet who seemed to be frozen. _So he has a range he can control him. How long is it?_

Temari turned her head slightly and gave her brother a confused look for the Suna-nin to give a slight shrug of the shoulder. Both their heads turned when Ibiki began to talk.

"Are you finished, Naruto?" Ibiki looked on as Naruto undid the binds on Kankuro's wrists and put him down in his seat with a little extra force. Ibiki put the thought toward the back of his mind for later questioning. He turned to the filled classroom. "Congratulations on making it this far. But it only gets tougher from here on . . ."

Naruto zoned out a bit as he walked back to the front of the room. He took another peak around and noticed more than half the candidates had been eliminated. He took another glance looking for specific people. _Good, they all made it. Just hang in a little longer and call his bluff guys. Don't back down._

"So what will it be? Take the question and risk being a Genin for life or take another shot six months from now?" Ibiki finishing the explanation of the tenth question. He looked around and inwardly chuckled. They were falling one-by-one. Genin he had seen before, their sensei he knew personally, were backing out. They couldn't look past his question or were too scared to act on any hunches.

His eyes danced across the candidates. More decided to drop out, and again and again. He raised an eyebrow when he saw who else was still in the classroom. _Twenty teams. Not bad, could have done better, but it seems this crop is very promising._

"Congratulations, you all pass."

"What?!" Temari snapped as she stood up. "You mean to tell me that the test didn't mean a thing?"

"Oh but it did," Ibiki explained. "In the field, stuck behind enemy lines, information is at a premium. The tiniest shred of information can make the mission a success just like disinformation can cause the death of a squad member. Chūnin are expected to be squad leaders and will be given impossible missions that seem more suicidal than practical. A Chūnin must be able to attain reliable information, in this case it was by cheating. That's also why there was the tenth question; to test your determination, to see if you had the guts to make the difficult call."

Naruto reached up and scratched his forehead. His eyes widened when he felt is hitai-ate move. _UH-OH._ Naruto winced as a figure, wrapped in cloth, crashed through the window of the classroom.

"Alright maggots, don't get to comfortable because now you get to deal with me," Anko said as she through two kunai up to the ceiling to display a sign behind her. "I'm the proctor for the second examination, Mitarashi Anko."

"Who's also very early," Ibiki said deadpanned.

Anko groaned. "Gaki why did you give me the signal?" Anko shouted. She looked around before moving the curtain and glared at Naruto. "Well?"

"You call that 'adjusting your headband'?" Naruto shot back. "This is adjusting your headband." Naruto took his headband and moved it every which way in order to prove his point. "Besides, I told you that entrance wasn't needed!"

"Showmanship is half the fun, Naruto," Anko argued. She sighed and shook her head. "Doesn't matter." She looked back up and gave the classroom an icy smile. "Hmm . . . Twenty teams Ibiki? You're going soft. Oh well, more fun for me. I promise you maggots, less than half of you won't make it through the next round."

Naruto could hear the gulps come from many of the candidates before his sensei disappeared out the window. He turned to the group. "Your Jōnin sensei will be informed of where to meet tomorrow. Get a lot of rest and pray to whatever gods you may have. You'll need it." Naruto turned and exited the window his sensei had just vanished through.

Ibiki chuckled. "Quite a pair those two. You are dismissed."

•••••

Three figures sat along a row of small stone Buddha statues. They wore Kusa headbands. The group looked around for the person who had promised the team to get them into the finals of the Exams. They had been skeptical at first but when the cheat sheet they had been given before the first exam had been correct, they had been put at ease.

"So glad to see you made it past the first exam." The group turned to see a figure walk out of the shadow of a nearby tree. They felt a chill go up their spines when they caught sight of the reptile-like eyes of the man.

The leader, a young woman, shook it off. "You said you could get us to the finals. We passed the first test, how are we to pass the second?"

"Ku ku ku ku," the man brushed off the younger shinobi. "So impatient. You're fighting spirit is certainly impressive. Unfortunately you won't be needing that spirit for this round . . . Or ever again."

Suddenly the three Kusa-nin felt a surge of chakra and a wave of killer intent. The girl fell to her knees as the other two fell from their seated positions on the statues. She looked up, but when she looked into the man's eyes she could only see her own death. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Why I'm you, Shiori-chan," the man said as he began to walk toward her. He pulled out a kunai and ran it along her hair. Her eyes quivered as she looked at the man. "Or at least I will be very shortly."


	17. An Uneasy Feeling

**Hey guys! I'm back after a longer than expected break. I have been really busy with work, making final presentations and what not, and also getting ready for hopefully my final year of school. With that said, my year is going to be hectic and filled to the brim so my updates will be sporadic as all get out. I hope to at least update once a month, ideally it would be every week but that probably isn't realistic.**

 **One reviewer pointed out to me that Shiore is a guy in the manga and Japanese anime but I am going off of the English anime where it states that he is a she just to clarify before someone yells at me or whatever.**

 **Another shout out to Foxydysphoria for betareading and working with me. You are awesome and if you are reading you should pop on over and read his works as well.  
**

 **As always please review! If there is something that you like or dislike, stuff that makes you wow or eh then please tell me. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 17**

"Welcome to the Forest of Death and the second round of the Chunin Exams," Anko said in front of a gate that lead into Training Ground 44. "This test is meant to challenge your survival skills behind enemy lines and your combative skills as a team in less than ideal situation. Each team will be after a set of these," Anko pulled out a white scroll and a black scroll, "a Heaven and an Earth Scroll. A team must make it to the tower within five days with both scrolls and each team member must be able to move on their own."

Naruto was messing with his kunai from a perch in the forest. He had done a good job. Once the Genin had left the first test, he had shared what he spotted. A few of the sentinels had seen things he saw, but more were impressed with what he had caught, especially Kankuro's hidden puppet. Still, he wasn't satisfied. He stopped messing with his kunai and looked down below to the waiting Genin.

"There is only one rule: do not open your scroll during the test until you have entered the tower. Besides that the test is a free-for-all. Do whatever it takes to get your hands on the full set of scrolls, even if you have to kill for it." Anko and Naruto smirked when they heard the gasps and whispers that followed. "But be warned there are more dangers than just enemy shinobi in this forest. Predators lurk around every corner, so if you aren't careful then you'll become their next meal. My assistant has your consent forms. Sign these and we will begin handing scrolls out shortly." Anko looked into the forest. "Alright get up and get to work gaki."

Naruto grunted and jumped from his perch, landing without a sound on the fence line. He pulled out a stack of papers and dropped to the ground. Standing up, he began to walk among the group. He froze after he passed a group from Kusa. Something didn't feel right. He had given three papers to a young teen, but when he saw her eyes something made him stop. He shook it off and continued on. After he had finished he sat himself on the roof of the shed where the scrolls were being given out.

"Gaki take this team to Gate 12 and wait for the signal," Anko ordered. Naruto jumped and landed in front of Anko.

"Hai sensei," Naruto answered before turning and seeing it was Team Seven. He turned back to the Tokubetsu. "Can I have a different team?" He was immediately sent to the ground.

"What was that baka?" Sakura shouted.

Naruto rubbed the top of his head. "Nothing, nothing at all Sakura-chan." He ducked another punch and another before Sai managed to grab Sakura and hold her back.

"I told you to never call me that again," she roared. She kicked and screamed as Sai held on for dear life.

"Shut up, the both of you," Sasuke ordered. "You're wasting time and energy. Just take us to our gate and then get lost dobe."

"My pleasure teme," Naruto said another his breath. He waved his hand, ushering them their gate.

Sai finally let go of the fiery kunoichi, who promptly pushed him away. She ran her hand through her hair and unruffled her skirt before bounding off to Sasuke's side, all the while chirping about different things.

Naruto lead them to their gate. He stopped before their gate number and jumped into the trees near the entrance on the other side of the gate.

"Oi dobe, you've got to let us in," Sasuke pointed out with a scowl on his face.

Naruto hummed a bit and twirled a key on his pointer finger. "I know teme, but we have time to wait and I like the view from up here. It's quieter and less brooding." Naruto chuckled as he saw Sasuke sneer and walk off with Sakura following right behind. _She won't last a day in here, maybe not even the night._

He looked down at a stopwatch he had been given by Anko. They still had thirty minutes before the test began. He sat back and thought about the last few days. He couldn't place it, but there was a feeling in his gut, a pit that seemed to eat away at his nerves, whenever he thought about Gaara and now the three strange shinobi from Kusa. They had been apart from the rest of the Genin from the same village the entire time when Anko was giving her instructions.

He shook it off, deciding that he was simply wasting his time. He'd deal with it at a later date and time. He took another look around before noticing something. Sitting with his legs crossed on the fence line was Sai. In his lap was a sketchpad.

"Oi back on the ground Sai."

"I was of the understanding that we could not enter the forest until the gates were unlocked. The fence is not the forest." Sai gave Naruto a forced smile, something that Naruto never understood, and continued to sketch.

Naruto groaned and slapped his forehead. Leave to Sai to point something like that out. With his curiosity now peaked, he got up and made his way over to Sai. He looked over the young artist's shoulder. His eyes went wide. On the sketchpad was a picture of Naruto sitting on a tree limp and spinning the keys around his finger looking off somewhere away from the viewpoint of the sketcher. The drawing was so detailed he could have sworn it was taken with a black and white camera.

"What is that?"

"It is odd for someone to not notice their own image, Naruto. I believe there is actually a medical term for that," Sai said before he put a pencil up to his chin and thought more.

Naruto shook his head. "No, I recognize my own image, Sai. I'm asking why you're drawing a picture of me."

Sai looked at him before he gave him another creepy smile. "Drawing helps me focus before a mission. I take inspiration from the area around me and noticed you sitting on the branch. Although I am confused. It is customary for someone to appreciate their image being drawn by an artist."

Naruto chuckled a little bit and put his hand behind his head. "Well I have to admit it is a first for me." Naruto opened his eyes when heard a tear. He grabbed the piece of paper in front of him. He looked at it and blinked. "What is this for?"

"Consider it a gift Naruto."

Naruto took another look at the sketch before looking back at Sai with a soft smile. "Thanks Sai." He looked down to the stopwatch that began to buzz. "Come on test just started." Naruto jumped down and unlocked the gate. He swung the gate open and turned to Team Seven. "Please don't bleed all over the place. It's my job to clean it up afterwards. Good luck."

With that Team Seven was off. Naruto watched them vanish into the trees before looking back down to the picture in his hands. He chuckled before folding it up and putting it in his back pouch next to a round object kept in a soft cloth. _Thanks, Sai... and good luck my friend._

 _•••••_

Anko sat on the roof of the hut that the Tokubetsu had handed the scrolls out of. She kicked her feet off the edge as she munched on dango with a smile on her face. She gave a sigh of content before throwing the empty stick at a nearby tree. The stick impaled the tree and accompanied other empty sticks that made the symbol of Konoha. She smiled before sitting back and putting her hands behind her head.

"Ah a nice treat for a exam well done."

"The exam just started." Anko looked to her side to see Naruto was sipping on a drink with a stick of dango in his other hand that was half finished. "We still have another 5 days of being on duty."

Anko snorted. She sat up and grabbed the stick of dango from the young lad. "We don't get involved in what goes on in there unless it's something extreme. As far as we are concerned this exam is over. We just sit back and deal with whoever comes out alive." She smiled and put the last of the dango in her mouth and chewed happily.

"Hey! I was gonna finish that!" Naruto shouted in protest.

Anko sucked on her fingers before flinging the pick to the ground. "Key word there gaki: was. That's what you get for talking back to me."

Naruto was about to respond when screams echoed from inside the forest. He jumped up and immediately went for a kunai only for his hand to be stopped by Anko's firm grasp.

"Slow down there maggot," Anko said with a calmed demeanor. "It's just the beginning of the fun for us. Settle down. If they can't handle themselves in there then the candidates aren't worthy of being Chunin."

"But that came from the area with the leeches in it," Naruto pointed out. "If they can't get them off soon enough they could die."

"I reiterate: if they can't survive in there they don't deserve to be Chunin." Anko let go of Naruto's wrist and stood up herself. She stretched a bit before putting an arm around Naruto's shoulder. "Afraid it's your girlfriend?"

"She isn't my girlfriend!" Naruto said with a slight blush on his cheeks. "And what if I am worried about her and the other Konoha shinobi? Is that so wrong?"

"It'll cloud your judgment. That's what's wrong with it," Anko said flatly. "One of these days, gaki, you need to grow up and realize the occupation we are in. Every mission we are sent on can become a life or death scenario, it could go terrible in a second. Every time a friend goes outside the village there is a chance they aren't coming back. The more you let it get to you the less you will be able to sleep at night. Just let it go."

"How can you say that?" Naruto asked with disbelief. He pushed Anko's arm off of him. "Those are my classmates out there, my comrades. And they're yours too."

"You don't think I know that?" Anko asked with an annoyed look on her face. "Grow up kid, stop looking to the future and start looking at the here and now. We are ninja, we don't get a future, we don't get a happy ending. So start cherishing those people that are close to you now so when they die, and they will, you at least have a few memories of them if you happen to outlive them." Anko sighed when she saw Naruto look away from her and back to the forest. She had to start creating a mean streak in the kid, something to toughen him up. For his sake.

•••••

Inside the forest, Team Eight stood below three Genin from Amegakure who were caught in a net and held in the air. Kiba was chuckling as he tossed an Earth Scroll into the air. "That was too easy. We didn't even have to do any fighting, just lay a trap and let the leeches do the work for us."

"We should start heading for the tower," Shino suggested. "We don't want to run into any unwanted problems."

Kiba scoffed. "I say bring them on. More teams we can eliminate now the more likely we are to be promoted. I say we stay out here a little longer and have some fun."

Shino and Hinata were about to argue when Kiba took off further into the forest. "Annoying," Shino muttered before taking off after the Inuzuka with Hinata following close behind.

•••••

In another part of the forest, Team Seven hid under foliage. Sai pulled up the bush a little to let a white creature walk through. He opened a scroll and laid it down. The creature, which had the semblance of a bird, walked onto the scroll and disappearing into the paper turning into words written in ink.

"It looks like there are three shinobi from a different village heading this way," Sakura said as she read the scroll. "Looks like they split up a kilometer from here. Any other reports Sai?"

Sai shook his head. "This is the only one I sent out that has returned. Strange, by my calculations they should have all been back by now."

"Then someone is out there," Sasuke said as he took a kunai out. "They are close too if your birds didn't go that far." Sakura was about to speak but Sasuke quickly put a hand to her mouth. He brought a finger to his lips to silence the pink haired kunoichi.

The air became filled with tension as the three Genin listened for any sudden movements. Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard a twig snap. "Move."

Just as they moved a strong gust of wind flew past the trio causing the forest to be devastated. Dust flew above the tree lines from trees falling around the area. Sasuke was on one side of the divide with Sakura at his side. Sai was on the other side with his scrolls out and a paintbrush in hand. In between them was an area of earth that was torn out and made clean by the attack. Their eyes shot up when they heard the laugh of a woman from the direction the jutsu came.

"My, my," she began as she walked toward Team Seven. "Aren't we observant?"

She had long dark hair and wore a cream colored cloth that came down to her knees with splits on the side to show black ninja pants. She had a purple obi tied around her waist and a hitai-ate that came from Kusa. She slowly approached all the while keeping her eyes on Sasuke and a smirk on her face.

"Who are you and what are you after?" Sakura barked.

"Why child, I seek the same thing you do." She put her hand behind her back and brought it forward to reveal an Earth Scroll. She tossed it up and down. "You have a Heaven Scroll and I want it."

"I don't think so. You have the Earth Scroll we need," Sasuke said as he drew out a kunai. Sai began to paint on his rolled out scroll. "You aren't winning this fight."

"If you want this scroll so bad . . ." The Genin's eyes widened when the teen raised her head and opened her mouth. She stuffed the scroll in her mouth and slowly pushed it down. After a bit it vanished. She licked her mouth with her tongue that seemed to resemble that of a snake. ". . . you'll have to kill me for it."

 _Wh-Who is she?_ Sakura thought as she began to back up.

The Genin began to take a step back before they heard a hiss. They turned around to see a large, brown snake staring back at them. They jumped out of the way as the snake lunged forward. Sasuke threw a pair of kunai at the beast but it bounced off its nose. The snake moved forward before the kunai exploded. Sasuke and Sakura looked up before the snake again burst through the smoke. It opened its jaws but was stopped by cords made of ink. The snake moved its head but was only brought further to the ground. The rest of its body became enveloped in similar cords.

"An impressive jutsu, but not good enough," the woman said. The snake made another surge and broke free of its bonds.

The snake shot after Sasuke who jumped to the trees. He kept running, ducking and jumping through the limbs of the forest above, zig-zagging the entire time, before landing in front of Sakura. The kunoichi looked on as the snake flew forward only to stop. Sasuke smirked as he pulled harder on ninja wire that was captured in his hands and mouth. He had trapped the serpent in a web created during his trip through the branches. He flung the wire onto the ground with kunai and kept a few in his mouth.

He quickly ran through hand signs before stopping at the Tiger Seal. He took a deep breath in. _Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu._ He breathed out and flames shot along the wire. The snake hissed and roared before it popped and was replaced by white smoke.

Sasuke opened his mouth and let the wire fall from his jaw. He panted with a thin line of smoke coming from the corners of his lips. He scoffed. "You'll have to do better than that. Now it's our turn."

Sai, who had been actively avoiding the serpent, opened his scroll again and continued drawing hastily from a hidden location in the trees above. Suddenly a small flock of birds came roaring out of the paper toward their target. The Grass ninja bent and twisted away from each bird before one exploded setting off a chain reaction. The trio looked on as the smoke cleared to reveal a mud structure that resembled the kunoichi.

Sai went flying from his perch among the trees. He landed with one hand on the ground and spun. He grunted as he pulled a kunai out of the socket of his shoulder. He grabbed his shoulder as his arm went limp. He jumped back as another wave of kunai shot out of the trees. He landed and was immediately sent forward. He hit a tree and fell backwards. He tried to get up but was kicked in the side of the head, effectively knocking him out.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened at the sudden movement. They hadn't seen a thing but suddenly the kunoichi was standing above their downed teammate with a foot on his back. "That was a good warm-up." She turned to Sasuke and laughed. "But I'm ready for the main course."

"Sakura take care of Sai. Make sure you two stay out of this."

"But Sasuke-kun-" she began to protest.

"Listen to the boy," the woman said with a sickly hiss. "After all you are in over your head." Suddenly Sasuke and Sakura were hit with chakra so intense it made them freeze. Visions ran through their head. Slit throats, kunai sticking out of every inch of their body, flames engulfing them, they all ended with their death. "See? You cannot win."

•••••

Naruto was standing and had been shadow boxing Anko before his head shot to the forest. A large explosion had averted his attention from his opponent to the forest. Suddenly he was on the ground holding his mouth.

"Come on gaki," Anko said disappointed. "You're better than that. You have to focus even when hell is breaking loose around you in a battle. If you don't then that could mean your death. Understand?"

Naruto stood himself up and nodded. He shook his head a bit to get the cobwebs out of his skull before attacking his partner. They flowed together perfectly, each strike was blocked, each punch avoided. Suddenly their dance was stopped when Naruto dropped to the ground.

He fell to his knees and had to put his hands on the ground to steady himself. He through his head down and vomited. He had never felt something like this in his life. Gaara had the aura of bloodlust, of danger, but this was different. He felt like he wasn't just in danger, no he felt like he would die, it was so immanent. It was an overwhelming sensation.

Naruto grabbed his head and tried to slow his breathing. _What is this?_

 **"Calm yourself Kit,"** the Kyubi barked. **"It's just a little Killer Intent. A practice used to cause fear in your opponent. Kami, do they teach you anything in Konoha?"** The Kyubi snorted and returned to his slumber.

Naruto's head shot up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Anko had an eyebrow raised as she took in the shaking image of her student. "You okay, gaki?"

Naruto shook his head and stood up. He was still a little woozy, but stabilized himself. He nodded with a hand on his head. "Yeah just lost my lunch. Must have been food poisoning. That's all."

"Okay, well... take ten and get your stomach together." Suddenly a member of the T&I Division shushinned next her.

"We have an issue. Three dead, but there is something off about them," he said to the Tokubetsu.

"Can't Ibiki deal with this?" Anko said with a groan. "I've got a test to proctor."

"That's the thing ma'am," the Chunin explained. "They are Genin that have registered for your test."

Anko went from annoyed to serious really quick. "Take us to them," she ordered. She looked around to try and find her apprentice. She heard puking coming from behind a tree. She snarled a bit. "Dammit gaki, we don't have time for this. Get it together and let's go."

Naruto walked around and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Hai sensei. I'm good. Let's go."

With a nod the three shinobi were off and running.

•••••

"So sad," the woman mused as she took in her prey. "I thought you'd be more of a challenging hunt." She reached into her kunai pouch and produced two sharpened knives. "Seems you were not worthy prey after all. Oh well."

She flicked the two kunai at the awaiting Genin. Her eyes widened when Sasuke raised his hand and drove it down into his leg. Seemingly taken out of his fear, he dove at Sakura. He grabbed her and rolled out of the path of the kunai. He put both his hands on either side of her face and pushed himself up to look at the assailant.

He looked back down to Sakura, who was still frozen in fear. He grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her slightly. "Sakura, Sakura you've got to get moving. Go and get Sai out of here. I'll keep her busy."

Sakura slowly nodded. She watched as Sasuke pushed himself up and fell a bit. He grunted and grabbed his leg, which was bleeding through the wrapping on his thigh. Before she could say anything he was on the attack. She glanced over to Sai and saw him struggling. He was still awake, if barely so.

Sasuke charged. He began with a volley of punches. The woman merely batted them away with a flick of her wrists. Sasuke ducked low and went to sweep her legs. The kunoichi did a back flip and landed on one hand. Changing her momentum, she brought her other leg down towards the boy's face. Sasuke caught the leg and twisted the appendage.

The kunoichi fell to her back and looked up to see a glint from a kunai. Sasuke roared as he plunged the kunai into his opponent's chest. He was gasping for breath and smile. His smile quickly vanished. He jumped back as his opponent seemed to turn to mud and slide away.

He turned around when he heard a sinister life. The kunoichi seemed to materialize out of a tree limp above him, her hair cascading toward him. The kunoichi, herself, took a look at the black haired man's eyes. She purred when she saw they had turned red with two tomoe in each eye. _He has awakened his bloodline, he has become a full fledged Uchiha . . . Good._

The woman fell to the ground and landed on her feet with the grace of a cat. "The Sharingan. And at such a young age, what a gifted shinobi. Things are just getting interesting."

•••••

Anko stopped her run when she spotted three other members from the T&I Division grouped around a shrine. She looked to make sure her apprentice had indeed followed. She nodded when she made eye contact with Naruto and strolled to the scene.

Anko sneered when she saw the bodies. All three strewed across the grounds, their blood on the statues and the grass. Anko could feel the spot on her neck where her Curse Mark was located begin to pulsate. She grunted and grabbed the spot. Their faces are gone. _He can't be back in the village, not with Jiraiya here. He would have known._ She gritted her teeth, the pulsating sensation was getting stronger.

Naruto caught one glance at the bodies and suddenly his mind flashed back to earlier that day. _I knew they didn't smell right. Those Kusa-nin from earlier, the one team that seemed to distance themselves from their countrymen, it was because they were fakes. The smell must have been copied or faked in case there was an Inuzuka._ His mind began to race. He was shook from his thoughts by his sensei.

"Go report this to the Hokage, tell him _he's_ returned," Anko ordered. She took one last look at the bodies before she turned to her apprentice. "Gaki, go to your apartment. You're exam is finished."

Naruto looked away sheepishly. "I can't really do that sensei."

Anko glared at the blond boy. "And why is that?"

"Well . . . " and puff, he was gone in smoke.

Anko stood frozen, her eyes widened at the realization. _A clone? When did he . . . When he went behind the tree!_ She shook her head and turned to the other shinobi in the clearing. "Get as many ANBU in the forest as possible. Now move out."

She took off at a dead sprint. Her heart raced as fast as her mind. _Naruto what are you planning on doing?_

 _•••••_

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The second Naruto had processed the information his clone sent back he jumped into action. He coughed a bit when the smoke dissipated. Standing before was Ishiri, who was curled up in a ball,and the pair of Shadow and Twilight who were both crouched like they were hunting, their teeth bared.

"Huh?" Twilight muttered. He took a look around before his eyes fell on the whiskered face of Naruto. He growled a bit. "Okay, kit. This had better be good. We were just about to catch dinner."

"Oi what is with all the commotion?" Ishiri lifted his head and looked around. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

Naruto shook his head. This wasn't the time for that right now, they had to get moving. "There is someone in Konoha that shouldn't be and Genin from across the Elemental Nations could be in serious danger. We need to find them."

"Calm down Naruto," Shadow said as he looked around at the forest they were in. "First let's start with where this group may have started from or where they were last seen."

"That's the thing, I don't know," Naruto explained. "The only hunch I have was an explosion about two kilometers from here. That's why I summoned all three of you. I need help."

Twilight perked up and smirked. "Alright, finally a challenge. Well let's get the hunt started so we can get back to dinner."

Naruto nodded and jumped into the trees with the three kitsune hot on his trail.

•••••

Sakura looked on as the kunoichi vanished from her sight. She looked around before suddenly Sasuke spun and blocked a punch. He pushed the punch down with his right hand before aiming a kick at his opponent's head with his left leg. The Kusa-nin ducked and rolled. From her lower position, she swung for Sasuke's legs. Sasuke jumped and pulled a kunai out. He flicked it with one fluid motion. The kunai never made contact.

He landed and went through rapid hand signs. _Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu._ He brought a single hand up to his mouth and spat small fireballs rapidly at his incoming attacker.

Shiore seemed to slither across the ground. She moved to avoid each separate fireball. When onne hit in front of her, she was enveloped in smoke.

Sasuke took a shallow breath and looked into the smoke. He turned and threw a kick that was easily blocked by the Kusa-nin. She retaliated with a kick of her own. Sasuke took a back step before ducking a punch. The pair threw punches and kicks at each other. Each blocked or dodged in fluid motion.

Sasuke shot his fist forward. He opened his hand at the last second and grabbed the forearm that was going to block the strike. He used the hand as leverage and pushed himself into the air above his enemy. He then brought his foot down hard onto the kunoichi's head. Her head hit ground with a thud.

Sasuke pushed himself up and away from the downed ninja. He panted and took a look around. He had done it, he had beaten her. His confidence faltered when he saw her rise. His breath hitched and his blood went ice cold when he saw there wasn't a scratch on her.

The Kusa-nin cracked her neck one way and then the next. A dark chuckle rocked her body, each laugh making her shoulders shudder and her arms slightly flap. "Ah so much power for someone so young," she said with contentment lacing her voice. She seemed to be enjoying the battle more than taking it seriously. She looked at the last Uchiha with darkened eyes. "This has been fun. While I have enjoyed playing with my meal, it's time for the predator to enjoy her food."

•••••

Naruto sprinted along just behind Twilight who had taken the lead. Just back and two his right was Shadow and Ishiri flanked his left. They had been going for about five minutes and had found nothing of importance. A few traces here and there but not of the target they sought. Suddenly the white fox stopped and jumped to a branch further up.

"Naruto take a look at this," Twilight said from the limb above the blond. Naruto quickly climbed the tree and found Twilight sitting next to a black mark and a kunai.

Naruto took hold of the kunai and smelled the wrappings on the handle. "This is it. This smells like the real Kusa-nin from the exam. Whoever the impostor is must have taken it from the bodies, their pouches were empty when the bodies were found."

"Looks like they were fighting someone," Twilight pointed out. "Looks, and smells, like ink."

Naruto's stomach churned at the implications. _Sai. No they couldn't have found him._ Naruto took another look around before lifting his head into the air and taking a sniff. _Nothing. Dammit._

"Shadow and Twilight-sensei. Does any place smell like that ink? Anywhere around here?"

Shadow and Twilight took a sniff around. Ishiri, on the other hand, went to his partner. "What is really going on Naruto?" Ishiri asked.

"Only Sai uses ink that I know of." Naruto looked around, hoping to spot any trail that could lead him to his friend. "He uses it for his ninjutsu and minor fuinjutsu. If he has gotten into a fight with those three-"

"Naruto I got a trace of the ink," Shadow yelled from the ground below the tree. "About another kilometer ahead but I can also smell three other scents and that of snakes. There is also the smell of smoke, probably a battle of some sorts. Hey Naruto slow down! Wait for us!"

Naruto took off and went straight to where Shadow had pointed to. _Hang on guys._

 _•••••_

Sakura propped Sai up. He was a little worse for wear, but he seemed ok. He had lost conscious sometime during the battle and before she could reach him. She took another glance at the combatants. Her fears began to multiply. _If Sasuke can't compete with her then what can I do? I can't handle her speed._ She turned back to her downed teammate. Sai wasn't going to be fighting anytime soon either.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and pulled out three shuriken and eyed his opponent. He launched the three shurikens at his adversary, which where dodged easily. He smiled as pulled his hands and teeth back to try and ensnare his opponent in the connecting string. Shiore vanished before he could finish his trap. With his hands full, Sasuke couldn't protect himself from a kick aimed at his ribs when the enemy shinobi appeared at his side. _Why couldn't I see her move?_ He felt one of his ribs snap.

He was sent skidding across the forest floor. He pushed himself up but felt his ribs ache in pain. He grabbed his side and crumbled to the ground but shot back up. He lashed out with a punch but his fist was caught and his wrist bent backwards. He cried out in pain when the kunoichi's off hand slammed into his outstretched shoulder while she pulled the same arm forward.

He was sent flying by a kick to the chest before he could even respond. He grabbed his side. He fell to the ground when he tried to push himself up with his arm that was dislocated. He dug both knees into the ground and forced himself back onto his haunches so he rested on both on his knees. Pain racked his body and his vision began to phase in and out. He had overused his Sharingan. He didn't know his limits with the dojutsu and it had ended up sucking his chakra faster than he thought.

He stared at his opponent but suddenly his vision was cut off when Sakura jumped in front of him with a kunai drawn. "Do-Don't take another step." She tried to sound more imposing than she felt, but it was obvious she was shaking.

"Sakura you can't take her," Sasuke said through grunts of pain.

"I'm the last member of the team standing," she said with desperation evident in her voice. "I-I have to do something."

"Foolish girl," the Kusa-nin spoke with a hiss of amusement evident in her voice. "You are out of your league."

"Here just take it and leave us alone." Sakura watched as their Heaven scrolled traveled over her shoulder and landed at their attacker's feet. "You've got what you wanted, now go."

"Ku ku ku," the kunoichi hummed in disappointment. She reached down and picked up the scroll. "You still don't see, do you. I was never after the scroll." Sakura's eyes widened in horror as the scroll began to burn. "I'm after a much bigger prize."

"What's that?"

"Why you Sasuke."

"You aren't going to touch him." Sakura was going to throw a kunai and then charge when the Genin dodged, but was stopped before she could even bring her kunai up. Every muscle seemed to freeze on her. Even her breathing stopped for half a second when she felt a shudder rack her body. She screamed at her body to move, imploring it to do something, but she was stuck.

She could here Sasuke scream in pain from behind her. She fell to her knees and tried to force herself up.

The shinobi's voice suddenly changed to that of a male's. "Yes the Uchiha bloodline runs strong in you, my dear Sasuke. You had stayed one step ahead of my moves during our little scuffle, your eyes are sharp. Almost as sharp as your brother's." The chuckle of the man's voice sent shivers up and down Sakura's spine. "But time to take my prize."

The shinobi's neck seemed to elongate and fire toward them. Sakura closed her eyes, she couldn't see her Sasuke-kun die like this. Her eyes shot open and went to the trees above when a familiar voice rang through the trees.

"Wind Relase: Wind Drill Jutsu!"


	18. For a Friend

**Hey guys! Been a while since I've updated anything really. This semester has been an interesting one, but I am glad to say I finally got this chapter done and it was a joy to write. Much thanks, and a big shout out, to my beta reader** **Foxydysphoria. You rock.  
**

 **Also I have taken down the poll and you will find out the results in the next few chapters.**

 **As always please review with comments, questions, concerns and the like. If there is something you really like, or feel I did good on, tell me. If there are things you feel I can clean up or do better on please tell me and give me advice so I can be better next time. I want to be a better writer.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 18**

"Wind Release: Wind Drill Jutsu!"

Sakura's eyes shot upwards to see a swirling entity cascading toward the ground. The object hit the ground and debris was sent everywhere. Sakura cried out as she was sent flying backwards. She coughed and looked up with shaky vision. Lying next to her were the male members of Team Seven unconscious. She gasped and grabbed her shoulder.

She gritted her teeth. Her arm was screaming in pain as she grabbed a kunai from her pouch. She sat up and brought the kunai up in front of her as someone landed in front of her. For the first time in her life she was thankful for the mop of blond hair and orange shirt that she was gazing at. "Naruto," she said with an exhaled breath.

"Sakura get out of here," he barked. Before she could question or move a battalion of Naruto's descended around Team Seven's assailant.

The impostor looked around with a bored expression. Shiore cocked her head to the side and looked at the newest member to the fight. "It is rude to interrupt someone else's business."

"My classmates, my business," Naruto barked back. Suddenly the many clones began to run through two different hand signs. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough/Fire Release: Dancing Flame Jutsu," the clones shouted. The two jutsu, coming from multiple points, collided in the middle. A column of flames erupted straight into the air. The flames ripped into the canopy and destroyed the tree branches and leafs above.

•••••

Anko looked up and shielded her eyes when fire erupted above the tops of the trees of the Forest of Death. She quickly lowered her eyes and ran toward the column. _Give him hell, maggot._

 _•••••_

Sakura looked back up when the fire had died down to reveal a hunched figure in the middle of a scorched circle of earth. Smoke billowed from the figure in the middle and the outer edges of the circle.

She felt a smile come to her lips. "Y-You did it Naruto," she said with a slightly nervous laugh. Her laughter turned into a gasp of horror after a crack reverberated through the woods.

The two conscious Konoha-nin looked to see the back of the smoldering figure break apart. A figure rose while covered in a slick material. The person looked up to reveal Shiore untouched by the combination. Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened at the scene while the man's voice again echoed in a laugh that sent chills up their spines.

"Sakura." The pink haired girl looked up to see Naruto reach for his back pouch, his eyes still in front of him. "Two hundred meters directly North of here is a tree with overgrown roots that creates a small shelter. On the roof of the shelter is a seal containing medical supplies. Take Sai and Sasuke and get there. Now."

Naruto took one last breath before flying forward with two kunai drawn with a backhand style grip. He threw one hand forward but his hand was shot upwards. Naruto winced as the grip tightened on his wrist. Not being deterred, he spun and attempted to impale the Kusa-nin in the chest. Shiore sent the Jinchūriki forward with a kick to his briefly exposed back.

Naruto turned around and let the pair of kunai fly before running rapidly through hand signs. "Wind Release: Air Bullet." Shiore batted the kunai away and shot forward. Before Naruto could open his mouth and release his burst of energy he was sent backwards from a punch to his gut. He skidded to a stop and gasped for air.

Naruto jumped into the trees above to avoid a pair of kunai. He grabbed a tree limp and pulled himself up. He looked down to see that his opponent was nowhere to be seen. He turned when he felt a surge of chakra. The sound of steel rang through the air as Naruto pushed against Shiore's own kunai.

Naruto gritted his teeth before grappling his opponent's wrist and falling backwards off the tree. Shiore pushed Naruto away. Both shinobi landed on the side of a tree and launched back at each other.

Sakura looked on with wide eyes as Naruto went punch for punch, jutsu for jutsu, with the impostor. Sasuke had barely been able to keep up and yet here was Naruto keeping pace and doing better. _When did he get this strong?_

Still shaken, she didn't notice when two figures landed near her. One looked to her. His hair was pitch blank and he wore a white shirt and pants. "Kunoichi we have got to go," he said. The man growled a little bit before turning to his partner. "She's frozen."

"What?" the other man barked in surprise. "Slap her awake then Shadow."

"Are you crazy Twilight?" Shadow spat back.

"We've got to move and get these three into a safe location before coming back to help Naruto," he pointed out. He ran over and pulled his brother from in front of the girl and pushed him toward the two unconscious Genin. "Take them and go." He turned to the pink haired girl before reaching back and slapping her across the face. "Oi, wake up. We're out of here." He growled again when she just stared at him. "Useless."

Sakura finally shrieked when she was picked up and slung across the man's shoulder. "Get your hands off of me," she screamed and punched him in the back.

"Shut up," he snarled. "Naruto told us to get you out of here. Now shut up and stay silent."

Sakura took a look at the man's partner who had Sai and Sasuke and either shoulder. She hadn't seen them around Konoha before. "How do you know Naruto?"

"We're his sensei. Or at least, two of them," the man responded before taking to the trees. Sakura looked up and could see a flash of orange before the battlefield was obscured by trees.

Before she knew it she hit the ground. She looked up to see she was beneath the roots of a large tree. She turned when she heard a whistle. She looked down as a kunai was thrust into her grasp.

"I hope you remember how to use that," the man with white hair mused.

"Twilight let's go."

Before she could respond the two men were gone and racing back to the fight. She looked down into her hand to see the kunai the man had given her. It was the most ornate kunai she had ever seen. At the base, near the wrapping, was the outlines of flames that went up the blade. The kanji for kitsune was written in black on the cloth of the kunai.

She looked back to see her two teammates who were lying on the ground. _I have to start treating them._ She pocketed the kunai and searched for the seal Naruto said was hidden. Unsealing the cache, she found medical supplies and blankets and began working on her teammates. She took a brief look at where the two men vanished and could only pray for the best.

•••••

Naruto landed on the ground and stared at his opponent while he tried to catch his breath. Standing across from him, with an eerie smile, was his opponent who seemed unfazed by the skirmish.

"My my, little Anko-chan has certainly done a fine job in training you," the impostor seemed to coo.

"H-How do you know my sensei?" Naruto questioned. He had already had a bad feeling about his adversary and it was only getting worse.

The shinobi laughed before eyeing Naruto again. "Because, before she was your sensei, she was my student."

Naruto growled and took a taijutsu stance. "Then you're the one who gave her that mark on her neck."

"Yes, a shame she could never truly bring out its potential, but there is one that I hope will finally live up to expectations… After all, he has been called a prodigy." The shinobi did a quick scan before chuckling. "It seems my prize has escaped. No matter. I will finish our little tussle and then go retrieve my prize shortly thereafter."

"Sorry, but I brought back up." The shinobi turned when he heard a growl and sidestepped a pair of jaws before grabbing Naruto's wrist and throwing him away after he had tried to land a punch.

Ishiri landed on the opposite side of his opponent than his summoner but still let lose a torrent of blue flames from his maw. Naruto also sent out his own attack. He actually released two air bullets before their target jumped into the trees. Naruto and Ishiri didn't waste another second before they gave chase.

Ishiri's front paws became wrapped in flames as he lunged forward. He took a swipe at his opponent who dodged back and raised an arm to block a punch from Naruto. Naruto turned in the air and sent a roundhouse kicked and made contact with his enemies chest. The enemy shinobi back flipped and jumped back again to avoid Ishiri's paws once more.

"And a summoner of the Kitsune Clan, too. Ah, what a pleasant surprise," he said with a chuckle. "My, in a few years you might actually be a threat to me, but I've had my fun." He brought two fingers up before sending a rush of chakra at his opponents.

Naruto could feel the paralysis jutsu beginning to take its toll. He heard Ishiri fall to the ground with a thud. They had gone through Ahri's own paralysis techniques, but they still hadn't come against anything like this. He reached in and tried to find enough chakra to dispel it.

Orochimaru smiled at the helpless duo. He had been quite impressed with the boy. He had faired better than even the Uchiha had and actually gotten in a few good strikes and even a couple of nicks from his kunai. His head shot up when heard another pair of snarls.

He quickly ran through hand signs as a pair of foxes, one white and another black, fired flames from their mouths. Shadow and Twilight had henge'd back into their fox forms and raced to their students' aid. Normally they weren't the brute muscle of the clan, but in a pinch they could manage.

Shadow let lose a torrent of black flames while Twilight fired a flame of white. The two merged into a spinning row of black and white intermingling flames. They had named the technique the Yin-Yang Inferno and it was hands-down their strongest jutsu.

Orochimaru put his palm outstretched in front of him and blew over the top of it to fire a strong flame. Shadow and Twilight jumped out of the way as their tandem attack was split in half. They looked back to their opponent and silently cursed the whiskered boy for dragging them into this fight. All three turned their heads when they heard a roar shake the forest.

Naruto had broken out of the paralysis jutsu, but had not realized how much chakra he had used. He felt the surge of power come over him and realized it wasn't his own. _Settle down. Keep your head._ He chastised himself. He leaned back before rocketing off at his opponent.

He jumped and tried to knee his opponent only for the man to bring both arms up and block the strike. Naruto grabbed both hands and twisted and caught the chin of the impostor with a savage kick and sent him flying. Naruto jumped back further. When he had grabbed the man's arms he placed an exploding tag and didn't have to wait long before the explosion enveloped his enemy.

"I'm getting tired of your persistence, boy." Naruto couldn't react fast enough as Orochimaru came careening out of the dust to punch him in the gut. Naruto doubled over as a silent scream tried to come out. He staggered back before he was hit with a kick to his ribs that sent him flying into a tree. His head hit the tree solidly and he fell down but was hit with another kick to his midsection. He tried to move but his world was in a daze. All he could hear was the sound of snarling, yipping and laughter before his vision finally went black.

•••••

Sakura was thankful for the supplies in front of her. The few supplies the team had on them wouldn't have been enough. Sitting in front of her were ration bars, bandages, anesthetics, soldiers pills, different medicines, and enough medical tools for a minor operation.

She was just about to replace the cloth on the boys' heads when she heard a sound like that of snake slithering. She looked up to see their assailant's upper body materialize out of the roots above them. Before she could react, his neck elongated and bit into the young Uchiha's neck with fangs.

Sakura cried out and lunged at the person who only retreated back into the tree, but his voice seemed to echo throughout their niche. "He will come to me seeking power… if he survives."

Sakura's eyes darted to her crush as he screamed. His eyes were shut in his sleep but she could tell he was hurting. His body began to seize. She threw herself on him and tried to calm him.

"Sasuke! You're okay!" she desperately shouted. "Calm down. You're going to be okay." Through all her yelling she didn't notice three tomoe appear on the boy's neck.

•••••

"Kami I told you we should have learned to call for medical help."

"Oh fuck off. How hard could it be?"

Naruto groaned as he heard the conversation. It was a rude way to wake up and was made worse when he tried to open his eyes and was met with the glare of the setting sun.

"You couldn't even pull a needle out of your own hide," Shadow snapped at his brother. "You looked like a pin-cushion for a week when you tried hunting that porcupine."

"You just sweep your tail across it and lick the wound," Twilight shouted back.

"Baka."

"What did you-"

The feuding brothers turned their attentions away from one another to their student who began to move. They looked to see Naruto sit up and grab his head. He moved his hand down and saw blood from the cut on his head. By the looks of his hand, the cut was near a large vein.

"Oh man what happened?" he mumbled.

"You got your ass kicked and you dragged us into it," Twilight answered with a snort. "Ishiri is still out cold."

Naruto looked over and saw Ishiri lying on the ground. His thoughts were put at ease when he saw his chest rise and fall at a steady rate. He looked around again before something caught his attention. "Wait if you're here then who is with . . . Sakura! You left her alone?"

"Um . . ." The Yin-Yang Brothers looked at each other with a look of realization. They turned back to Naruto with a sheepish look on their muzzles. "Kinda."

Naruto jolted up before stumbling a bit and fell to a knee. He put his hand on a nearby tree and tried to stand up again.

"Naruto sit down. That gash is big," Shadow ordered.

Naruto gingerly shook his head. "They need me."

"Yeah alive, not dead," Twilight retorted. "And Ishiri is out cold. We aren't gonna let you two separate. Not with you both being incapacitated and us as your only back up."

Naruto stumbled over to his partner and knelt down. He cringed when saw a drop of blood land on Ishiri's orange coat. He took his hitai-ate off and readjusted it so it covered the cut. He picked Ishiri up and walked his way through the forest. "Then we'll go to them and you two are watching over us and staying out of sight. It's bad enough she saw your henge'd look."

•••••

Sakura was shaking. Sasuke had stopped shaking, but all of the sudden he began to sweat. She had tried everything to break his fever but it wasn't working and she had no idea what to do. The look on his face was breaking her heart. He was in pain, immense pain. She was about to change the cloth on his head when she heard a branch above her head move. She grabbed the kunai the strange man had left her with and brought it in front of her chest. She clenched her teeth but she could feel her hands shake. She gasped when, for the second time that day, Naruto dropped in front of her.

Naruto looked up before falling back a bit. He didn't know what to do. Sakura was shaking in his arms. Her head was in his shoulder and he could feel her tears begin to soak his shirt while her arms wrapped around his chest.

Naruto took a peak up into the trees to Shadow and Twilight who had followed with Ishiri on Shadow's back. The twins looked at their student before looking at each other. They looked back before shrugging slightly as if to say 'you're out of luck Naruto'. Naruto looked back to the girl hanging to him like a lifeline.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan," he said gently. He wrapped her in a hug and gently patted her back. "You are going to be okay."

"Thank you," she whimpered. She never thought of Naruto as someone she would ever seek comfort in and yet she was glad he was there. He just seemed to ooze warmth and it worked to settle her down. She felt him move and clenched her hands to the fabric of his shirt even more. "What are you doing?"

Naruto winced a little. Sakura's nails dug into his skin when he had tried to move. She was shaking less and less, but still she wouldn't let go. He looked back down and met her emerald gaze. He had never seen Sakura scared or frightened before. She had always been head strong and determined, but she was far from it. He could feel her tense when he had gone to get up and settled back down.

"Just making sure that no one is around," he said. He looked at the fear that flashed in her eyes at the thought of him leaving. He gave her a soft smile. "I'll be back really shortly. Try and get some rest. I'll take the night watch, you've been through a lot."

Sakura looked at him and could see no deception. His smile seemed to take some of her trepidation away. She nodded slightly. "Thanks, Naruto."

Naruto stood and smiled again. "Of course, Sakura-chan. I'll be back. I promise." Naruto jumped into the trees above and out of sight.

Sakura went back inside the little nook and eyed her two teammates. She grabbed a new towel and soaked it with the little water that she found in the seal. She replaced the towel on Sasuke's head before and checking on Sai. Her eyes would periodically glance to the opening the roots created with the same thought running through her head. _Please come back soon, Naruto…_

Naruto landed next to Twilight and Shadow. He bit his thumb and drew a little blood. He silently hit his hand on the ground and was enveloped in smoke. The next thing they heard was a small yawn. Naruto quickly put a finger up to Satsuri's lips and made a sign for her to be quiet.

Satsuri's eyebrows rose before she looked around. She looked even more confused when she saw Shadow and Twilight staring at her. She looked again and saw Ishiri lying unconscious next to Twilight. She rolled her eyes before swatting Naruto's hand away. She jumped over to Ishiri and ran her glowing tail over his body.

"I swear to Kami every time you summon me, either you or Ishiri is knocked out, Naruto-sama. For once could it be for an enjoyable dinner, and chat over rabbit or venison? Something more pleasant?" she pouted as she spoke. She sighed and turned back to Naruto. "Nothing major but he will feel it in the morning. Ishiri will be able to fight in maybe a day but it will be three or four before is fully recovered."

"Thank you Satsuri-chan," Naruto said with a nod. "I really, truly appreciate it." He reached over and scratched her behind her ear. Satsuri sighed and seemed to smirk as she leaned into the scratching.

"I will take Ishiri back to the den if you are done," Satsuri announced. Getting a nod Ishiri and the medic vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his head. He thought about his situation. He didn't know where is enemy was and if their last encounter was any indicator he was outclassed by a mile. He looked over to the two trackers who had helped him. While they were backup they weren't Ishiri. He also couldn't risk summoning anymore kitsune. While Ahri could stay hidden with her genjutsu, Bruno didn't know the definition of subtle. Being a taijutsu specialist he would have to be up close to his opponent. It was bad enough Sakura saw Twilight and Shadow in a henge'd form, he didn't need another person to explain.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto turned his head to see Shadow was looking at him expectantly. "It's your call Naruto."

Naruto looked around some more before pulling out a scroll and tossing it toward his sensei. Shadow caught it with his mouth and set it by his paws. "Set up a perimeter. The scroll has enough equipment to secure a small village with traps. I'll leave a clone to help. Pop him when you are done so I know where the traps are."

"Oi, then what will you be doing?" Twilight piped up. "You're not thinking about going back out there, are you? Fuck, Naruto you're crazy. That bastard could still be out there."

"Which is exactly why I'm the best person to go out and collect food, water, and stuff to make a small fire. I know this forest like the back of my hand. I'll be able to evade him and whoever else is possibly out there," Naruto stated.

Twilight and Shadow looked at each other. The three stayed in silence before Shadow finally spoke up. "Fine, but you have an hour. If you aren't back by then the pink haired kunoichi is on her own because we're coming after you."

"Deal," Naruto said as he crossed his fingers in front of him and created a shadow clone. He gave the pair nod before jumping further into the trees above their spot.

Twilight and Shadow followed the boy before looking at the clone. "Let's get this shit started," Twilight muttered. The trio proceeded to set traps over nearly every part of the forest that encircled the embattled Team Seven.

•••••

From limb to limb she jumped. She could feel him, she could sense him getting closer and closer with each passing second. Adrenaline raced through her veins as her heart racked her ribs with each beat. She didn't care if she was running straight into a trap, this was her chance and she was taking it.

Anko jumped for a limb. She grabbed the limb and swung herself. She flipped through the air before landing on a larger limb below. She stood up and stared into the sickly yellow eyes of her former sensei, who was leaning against a tree.

"Orochimaru," Anko spat through gritted teeth.

"Ku ku ku," the Sannin teased. "Why, Anko, I would have expected a student to be more excited to finally see their old sensei."

"Shut it. You know why I'm here. This ends now, you will finally pay for the innocent lives you ended, for your crimes against humanity," Anko declared. She reached into her jacket and produced a kunai. She pulled her arm back and threw the weapon.

The kunai sailed true but was caught with two fingers by the snake wielder. "Trying that old trick Anko?" Orochimaru purred. "You'll have to do a lot better than that. You underestimate me." Suddenly the traitor was wrapped with three hissing snakes and was pulled forward.

Anko roared as she pulled her arm back. She launched forward with a second kunai in her free hand, albeit poison free. She plunged the kunai into her victim's neck but immediately let go of the copy. The kunai sank into the substituted mud. She whirled around and ran through hand signs again. "Ninja Art: Striking Shadow Snakes."

Three more snakes shot out of her sleeve and shot towards Orochimaru as he seemed to materialize from the tree trunk. Using a single hand he batted the three snakes away. He smirked until he saw a wire that was attached to his wrist.

"Now who's underestimating who?" Orochimaru's eyes shot up to see Anko holding the Tiger seal and a wire in her mouth. The purple haired kunoichi took a deep breath before releasing a torrent of flames that raced along the thin piece of metal.

The flames hit their mark as her enemy was engulfed in the flames. She looked on. Her eyes widened when three kunai came out of the flames. Having not seen the throwing actions, she was unable to dodge due to the close distance. With no other choice she put a hand to her side and protected herself. She howled in pain as one kunai dug into each shoulder and one cut through her hand and pierced her side, not enough for a fatal blow, but Anko could feel the pain.

Anko fell to a knee and pulled out the three kunai. She looked around again. She brought one of the kunai up and tried to slow her breathing. She could feel her blood slowly leak out of her side and tried to her best of ignore the pain. She heard the Sannin's cackle. She went to turn around before a pulsating pain shot through her body, starting at her neck. She screamed in pain. She slumped to the ground and grabbed her Curse Mark. She hadn't felt the immense and pulsating pain of the atrocity react so strongly. She was gasping for air, the pain at her side completely forgotten as the pulsating pain continued.

She was shaking as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Every fiber of her being was aching, begging for her to go down, but her pride kept her up. Her shaking stop as a cold hand caressed her cheek. The slight touch made her stomach want to get rid of it contents. She fought as best as she could when the cold, seemingly lifeless, hand forced her chin up and her eyes into the waiting gaze of her former sensei.

Her eyes shook when she peered into the sickly, yellow eyes of the Snake Sannin. Visions flashed through her mind of the atrocities she had seen when the man had taken her under his wing. She tried to fight back her trembling, but to no avail.

"My dear Anko, don't tell me you're scared," Orochimaru prodded his former student.

Anko gritted her teeth and fought back her fears. "Of a bastard like you? Never."

"Ku ku ku always with the rough outer exterior, it is something I always liked about you Anko-chan," Orochimaru cooed. He turned his head and rose so his back was to her. Anko stared on frustrated. "But it is just a mask. You are weak, we both know that."

"You will never get away with this game of yours. Whatever it is," Anko spat.

"Oh yes, yes I will," the traitor purred. "And you will help me."

Anko leaned back so she was sitting on the heels of her feet. She winced as she grabbed her side. "You've really gone mad. Why would I want to help kill Hokage-sama? That's your goal right? All because he chose Namikaze Minato to succeed him. You are a sick bastard." Anko froze when she heard another unhealthy cackle from her sensei.

"My dear Anko how you underestimate me. Simple revenge, what do you take me for? A petty criminal?"

"Then what do you want?" she spat.

"There is a lot of talent among this new generation of Konoha shinobi, wouldn't you say?" Orochimaru mused. "Especially one with such a strong Kekkei Genkai for his age. A pure prodigy if there was ever one."

"The Uchiha," Anko growled. "Once Hokage-sama hears about this he'll put him under lock and key, he'll never be yours."

Orochimaru turned to show a smirk. His eyes had a glint in them that sent shivers down her spine. "Oh you will stay silent or else."

"Or what?"

"It seems that Sasuke isn't the only prodigy among Konoha's newest generation. If it weren't for the Uchiha blood running through his veins, why I would consider choosing someone else." Anko's eyes widened at the realization. So stunned she barely registered what he said next. "You will continue the Chunin Exams or I will kill Uzumaki Naruto, slowly and with as much pain as humanly possible, and I will make you watch. You have truly done a wonderful job my dear Anko. How would that make you feel? To watch your precious apprentice die because of your actions? Why it might just be the death of you." With that he seemed to vanish into the forest.

Anko gasped for breath once the Sannin had finally left. She didn't realize she was holding her breath the entire time. She staggered to her feet and she processed what to do. She couldn't fight against her former sensei, no matter how determined she was. But could she put her wants over the needs of the village?

She leaned against the trunk of the tree with one hand. With the other hand she clutched her head. So many thoughts ran through her mind before a pair of blue eyes flashed through mind. She new what she had to do, but what she was going to do was something entirely different.

First thing firsts, she had to do a quick patch job and find her knuckleheaded apprentice. With sigh and wince she took off into the forest.

•••••

Sakura's eyes fluttered open when a dim light danced across her features. She groaned before realizing where she was. She sat up and grabbed a kunai. Bringing it up, she prepared to defend herself. Her thoughts calmed down when saw three fish, with sticks in them, sitting near a small fire. The fish looked like they had just got done cooking. She looked up again and blushed slightly.

Sitting across from her, on the other side of the fire, was Naruto. He had his shirt off with one hand on medical tape and seemed to be wrapping it around his ribs. He had wrappings across his chest, right shoulder and head where his hitai-ate would normally sit. He seemed to be in a trance, focusing on his patchwork, and didn't notice the kunoichi move.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Hmmm?" Naruto looked up from his work. Once he saw the pink-haired girl was up and about he gave her a fox like smile. "Ah Sakura-chan! Glad to see you are up. I'm just taking care of a few nicks and scrapes."

"Baka!" Sakura hissed out in a whisper. "Why did you light this fire? You're drawing attention to us!"

Naruto waved it off. "That's fine. There are enough traps set up around us that no one will come within a hundred meters without being blown to kingdom-come. We're fine." He got up and stretched before taking a fish and offering it to her. "Here, eat up. You'll need it for tomorrow."

"Um… thanks, I guess," Sakura muttered. She looked the fish over before taking a tentative bite. She was shocked when it tasted good and began to enjoy her small meal. She looked up from her fish to see Naruto eyeing her. Feeling uncomfortable, she swallowed her latest bite before raising and eyebrow. "What are you staring at?"

"That cut on your arm," Naruto declared as he pointed to the kunoichi's right arm.

Sakura looked back down to see a small cut on the outside of her arm. It was small creating small amounts of blood, nothing life threatening, in and of itself. "It's just a small cut," Sakura responded back.

Naruto shook his head before reaching into a small box and getting gauze, disinfectant and more wrappings out. "Yes it is small, but it is also dirty. The cut isn't what you should be worried about, instead it is the possible chance of infection that is the real serious issue." Naruto reached out to grab Sakura's arm, but missed as the girl pulled back. "Aye Sakura-chan, I can't help you if you don't let me."

Sakura thought about it for a moment before sighing and reluctantly offering the blond boy her arm. She winced when she felt the disinfectant hit her scarring cut. After a bit she looked down to she the mark covered in wrappings. She unconsciously rubbed it and looked around again. Strung up on a line were towels and Naruto's shirt. Sasuke and Sai both had different towels on their foreheads and seemed to be more comfortable.

"Why?"

Naruto looked up from his half eaten fish with a confused expression on his face. "What was that Sakura-chan?"

"Why all of this?" she questioned as she motioned to the area around them. "Why come and rescue us? Why stay and make sure we are healed and watch over us when you could be relaxing and sleeping in your own bed? We aren't even on the same team."

"Because you're my friends," Naruto answered back, as though it were a simple matter-of-fact. "You do that for your friends. You help them when they need it."

Sakura looked down a little dejected. If she was being honest with herself, she wouldn't have done the same thing. She couldn't imagine having the courage to face an enemy she knew she couldn't take when she didn't have to; when it wasn't even her fight. But most of all, she couldn't see why Naruto would do it for her, for Team Seven.

"You really consider me a friend?" she asked as she looked up and caught his gaze. "After everything I've said since the academy? You still consider me a friend?"

"Hai," Naruto said as he took another bit of his fish. He picked up his hitai-ate off the ground and showed it to her. "This means you're a comrade, no matter the past. This means that you are a part of the village I swore I would protect. To turn my back on a comrade, on a member of the Leaf, would be to turn my back on everything I hold precious. Yes, we might not get along, but you're still my comrades, my friends. I fight to protect my friends, even the teme. It was an easy choice and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Silence fell on the pair as the night carried on. After a while Sakura asked a question, hoping the answer would clear up some minor confusion she held. "Naruto? How did you know about this place?"

Naruto leaned back and gave her his signature smile. "Because this is where I train. Been coming here everyday since I was paired with Anko-sensei. Know this place like the back of my hand. There are seals containing medical supplies all across the forest in case of emergencies. If something happens when we're training we need to be able to patch it up enough that we can get to the hospital. Being out here, in a remote area, we need to get to supplies quickly. Plus, the skills are important. They're one of the first things Anko-sensei taught me, that way I can always patch myself up enough to continue the mission."

Sakura nodded a bit, a slight smile on her face. "It sounds like she teaches you a lot."

Naruto laid down and stared into the forest canopy with a smile. "Yeah, she's awesome. A little crazy, but aren't we all?"

Sakura chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I guess that's true." She looked to her side and her eyes fell upon the strange kunai she had been given earlier by the two men who had carried Team Seven. Her mind went back to something Shikamaru had said earlier in the exams. "What about your other sensei?" she asked as she took a look at him from the corner of her eye.

Naruto knew the question was coming. He had cursed when he saw her grip the distinctive kunai and figured the question was going to come up if Sakura ever got curious.

Naruto shrugged from his position on the ground. "He's a little perverted, but Ero-Sennin is alright I guess. Been teaching me a cool jutsu so that isn't terrible."

Sakura eyed him more. "Do you have any more?" she questioned. He wasn't actively avoiding the question but he wasn't being entirely truthful.

"Yeah actually. Kakashi-sensei is a little lazy for my liking. Anko-sensei says that if I ever pick up his habit of being late then she'll feed me to her snakes," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Asuma-sensei helps me with my wind jutsu and, of course, there's Iruka-sensei. I still go to him for advice every now and then."

Sakura hummed a bit as she put the kunai back into her pouch with her other weapons. She'd keep it for another time. Naruto grimaced when he saw the kunai slip back into her pouch. He would try and get it back later. As he thought about how he could get it back, something caught his attention.

Naruto sat up leisurely. He yawned as he stretched and twisted. As he did this his eyes danced across the forest, scanning for anything different. He could smell three distinct scents. Metal mixed with sweat, perfume and something else he couldn't put a finger to. His mind went back to earlier as he tried to pinpoint it. Deciding it would be best to investigate it without worrying his pink haired friend, he turned to Sakura.

"Aye Sakura-chan, you should get back to sleep," Naruto offered with a smile. "It's been a long day and you need your rest more than I do. Go ahead and rest for a bit, I'll keep watch."

Sakura gave him a soft smile. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Thank you for everything Naruto," she muttered into his shoulder. "You're a true friend."

Naruto just smiled and nodded. He waited until he could hear the rhythmical breathing that came from blissful sleep. He turned and saw the Konoha-nin's chest rise and fall. Satisfied, he pushed himself up before vanishing from sight.

Naruto suddenly reappeared behind a genin from another village. He knew he wasn't from Konoha from the yellow jumpsuit and smell of metal and industry. The boy had spiky brown hair and a mouthpiece that seemed to aid his breathing. Before he knew what was happening, a kunai was placed against his neck.

"I suggest you move along," Naruto said with a growl. "Go find your needed scrolls elsewhere."

"Y-you can't do this," the boy seemed to stutter. He had been ready to jump out and search for the scroll his team needed. He hadn't even heard the blonde ninja land behind him. "You're the assistance, you aren't even a part of these exams."

"And if I had half a mind I'd knock you out and tie you to a tree," Naruto responded. "For you to get lazy and stop paying attention to your surroundings is an embarrassment to both your village and your sensei. If you can't stay hidden in the dead of night then you don't deserve to be a Chūnin. Now, before my patience runs out, leave this area."

"Okay! I'm gone, I'm gone," he said before darting into the trees above and away from Team Seven.

Naruto waited for a bit before he went deeper into the forest. He reached down and undid a piece of moss, lifting it to reveal a tiny device connected to a wire. While it wasn't an explosive trap like he normally used, it was good enough to secure the area. Taking the wire in the device, he pulled it taut. The trick to this device was its ability to relay an enemy's position without spooking whoever tripped it. The wire connected the device to a tree limb. When enough pressure was exerted on the mechanism, the device would release the wire and lower the tree branch, making the branch move. Naruto had picked up the sound earlier when he was talking with Sakura and it was enough to know where his enemy was. A simple device but something that had just kept himself, and Team Seven, safe.

He flashed away in an instant before landing back in the clearing. He had a beaming smile on his face. He finally had gotten the shunshin down, all it needed was a little adrenaline and absolute need. He sat down and was immediately joined by Twilight and Shadow.

"You're no fun," Twilight snapped at the boy. "We were about to have some fun with that little runt."

"Too messy," Naruto responded. "That would draw attention to ourselves and that is the last thing we'd want. We needed a quick win, not a drawn out battle."

"Plus I think I smelled him shit himself," Shadow said with a chuckle. "He won't be coming back anytime soon, even if he finds reinforcements. That is a way to win a battle without ever having to fight. Good to know you did more than just take naps during your sessions with Yasu-sama."

"You know there are three more out there, Naruto," Twilight spoke up. "They are about half a klick outside of our nearest trap northwest of the fire. They sat back and watched the last Genin. Haven't moved since."

Naruto ran his hands through his hair. He groaned and looked back into the clearing. "Three on one? Might be able to take them if I split them up or we can wait them out. If they stay any longer than the morning we'll do something. Get some sleep."

•••••

Three sound ninja watched as another Genin ran from the clearing. Dosu looked back to see the same blond boy appear again and sit back next to the tree that was bathed in moonlight. He shuddered when the boy seemed to be staring right at them.

"That blond punk isn't worth a shit," Zaku said from behind Dosu. He was playing with the mechanical holes in the hands with a maniacal smile. "Let's take him out and eliminate Sasuke."

"Patience Zaku," Dosu ordered calmly. "The numbers may be in our favor, but the strategic advantage belongs to him. He knows the land better and has set up traps to capture any would-be assailants. We'll wait him out until morning when he is tired and we can see more clearly and then we'll strike."

•••••

Naruto had waited patiently, his eyes sharp and his ears keen on any changes. With every minute that past he could feel his frustrations begin to rise. He felt like a mouse being cornered by a feline predator. Shadow and Twilight had returned to the den leaving Naruto by himself. After hours and hours of patiently waiting, Naruto could tell the three foreign ninja were getting restless.

The ninja were slowly creeping up on his position, fanned out but still in communication and visual range of each other, leaving Naruto in a precarious position. The first rays of sunlight were peeking through the forest's canopy. He could see their plan now. Slowly move forward and detect any type of traps he may have set up. From their position he knew they had already gotten past the first layer. If he made a move toward one then the others would strike. Sending out an army of clones was a no-go either, he wasn't about to risk Team Seven being caught in sort of crossfire, not after the hell they just went through. His only hope is if they got caught in one of his traps.

Naruto scanned the forest and he pulled out a kunai and readied for a fight. He could feel his adrenaline begin to pump as he began to pour chakra into his eyes and ears. His scowl turned into a smirk when he heard the sound he had been hoping for. The faint, yet all too satisfying, sound of a wire being pulled seemed to freeze time.

The calm, peaceful nature of the forest was quickly shaken by explosion after explosion. The volatile materials ripped through trees and bushes as one explosion grew into several in a chain reaction that devastated the trees in the area.

Naruto growled as three ninja dropped in front of him. One, a boy with a happuri, was injured, having taken shrapnel to one of his arms. His free hand cradled the damaged limb. The other two had some burn marks on their clothes but other than that were completely unharmed.

"You're good," the boy in the middle said. He had bandages wrapped around his face and showed only one eye. He was hunched over slightly with a pelt on his back. "You're traps were set up well. If a deeper explosion were set off then they all were providing an expansive coverage of the damage you were able to deal. Quite creative."

"Wh-what do you want?" Naruto lowered himself more to the ground when he heard the shriek from Sakura. He was hoping her snoring would keep her asleep, but to no avail. "We don't have a scroll. Just leave us alone."

"They aren't after a scroll." Naruto eyed the boy in the middle, obviously the leader. "No… you're after something else."

The boy merely shrugged. "Whether we get a scroll or not makes no difference to us."

"Then why are you even at these exams?"

"To prove a point," the injured boy shouted. "We are here to prove Oto is a powerful village. We have been passed over, in favor of the bigger villages, but we are gonna prove that our technology far surpasses the skills of the Konoha shinobi. Starting with the Uchiha."

"He's unconscious and can't fight back; it would be a slaughter," Naruto shouted in horror. Were they really gonna attack a defenseless shinobi when it wouldn't even help the mission?

"Better for us," the boy yelled. He put his free hand up and aimed it at Naruto. From his spot Naruto could see a small vent in his hand. "That means he won't fight back. Slicing Sound Wave."

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough," Naruto countered.

The jutsu met halfway. When they collided they kicked up tremendous debris before Naruto's jutsu overpowered the sound-nin's technique the three enemy combatants jumped out of the way as the attack left a trail in its wake.

Naruto chuckled as he put his fingers in a cross in front of his body. "The thing about trash talking is you have to be able to back it up." Naruto was about to continue the fight when he was interrupted.

"That's enough Naruto!" The group looked up to see Anko standing on a limb that oversaw the tiny battlefield. "You have no right to interfere with this exam. You have stepped out of line. Stand down and head towards the tower immediately."

"But sensei-"

"NOW!" Anko barked. Naruto froze when he saw the look in her eyes. She had never snapped at him like that before. Naruto nodded as he put his kunai away. He looked back to Sakura who stared back at him with widened eyes. He closed his eyes and jumped into the tree line. Anko turned back to the four conscious members of the clearing. "As you were."

Anko took off after her student. She quickly caught up to him. She grabbed him by his shoulders and swung him around before grabbing his shirt and pinning him to a tree with her forearm on his chest.

"You baka! You could have created an international incident back there. Think about how it would looked if three Genin from another country would wind up dead by the hands of a proctor's aid. Politicians would be calling for your head and there isn't much the Hokage could have done to stop them. Dying in the exams is one things, but dying to someone that is assisting the exams is another." Anko let go of him and looked down as he fell onto his butt.

"On top of that you disobey a direct order from a superior. You went into a fight recklessly, without information and without backup," Anko continued to berate the whiskered boy. "You were outclassed and you could have, should have, died. Kami must like you gaki. Now get moving!"

Anko looked on as the boy continued the trek, but at a much slower pace. She grabbed her curse mark and sighed. She looked back up and followed her student.


	19. Battered and Bruised

**Hey Guys! I am excited to finally update this story. I think the last update may been sometime in October so it's been a while. But I am glad to be back to writing and I want to thank everyone who has been waiting so very patiently for the release of the newest chapter. With finally graduating and for the most part settled into a new area of the country and job I will hopefully be writing much more frequently. These next few chapters I am not terribly excited to write but they are important for story sake and so I'm adding them to my story.**

 **Like always please review. Tell me what you think, any mistakes I made or what have you. I like criticism and feedback, I want to get better at my craft.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 19**

Naruto could only look on and watch as the second round of the Chunin Exams came to a close. He sat perched from his spot on the balcony that overlooked the wide-open space that resided within the tower of the Forest of Death. He had had many a spar with his sensei in this same building, but today he could only watch as six teams stood in front Sarutobi Hiruzen and the rest of the proctor's of the exams.

His eyes danced across Team Ten who looked a little worse for ware. They had slinked in on the fourth day tired and exhausted. Choji wasted no time in hitting the cafeteria while Shikamaru found a bed and crashed. Ino, meanwhile, found the showers. Overall they were not in too bad of shape.

Next his eyes danced across the team from Oto. Naruto could feel a growl escape his throat. The growl turned to a chuckle as he saw the product of his handy work. Burn marks could still be seen on their clothes and if it weren't for some medical tape on Zaku more burns could have been visible. Naruto caught a glare from the said Genin and snorted when he saw his scowl.

Naruto moved on to the older group from Konoha. They had come in on day three a little tired but otherwise perfectly fine. A little banged up but better off than half of the remaining teams by far.

Naruto eyes moved on from the team of older Genin onto the team in the worst shape hands down. Team Seven had come into the tower, not as conquering heroes, but as limping survivors. Cut marks, torn clothes, bruises scattered throughout their bodies and a lack of chakra. Team Seven seemed to be standing on willpower alone, but Naruto still found their story of success very suspicious.

•••••

Team Seven moved as quickly as they could through the trees of the Forest of Death. Exhausted physically and mentally they raced toward the tower and prayed that the remaining hours of the second exam provided them a miracle. Their plan was nothing more than prayer, a last ditched effort: find a fight already taking place and engage the team that remained standing.

The three Genin came to a rest on a branch over seeing a small clearing near the large river that ran through the forest. Sakura fell onto her butt as her back rested on the trunk of the tree and grasped for her canteen. Sai opened a scroll and painted three small birds that flew off in different directions as recon for the tired group while Sasuke stood on a higher branch and scanned the area for any possible movement.

He could still feel a nagging sensation from his neck, whatever it was would have to wait. He steeled his nerves before a flash of his brother's eyes came into his mind. _He was ANBU by this time in his life._ His balled his hands into fists, his nails digging deep into his skin. _I have to pass this exam, to get one step closer to my goal._

"How much longer do we have?" Sasuke barked at the other two members of the three-man squad.

Sai rubbed sweat off his forehead before peering up into the canopy above him attempting to catch a glimpse at the sun. "Judging by my calculations possibly another three hours maybe less."

Sasuke snorted before turning his eyes back to the forest. "Hurry up and finish your break, we move once Sai's birds come back."

"We've been moving since before sunrise Sasuke-kun," Sakura pointed out. "Even if we did find a fight we won't be able to do a thing. We are running low on chakra and supplies."

Sasuke shot the pinkette a glare. He opened his mouth to offer a retort before an explosion rang throughout the forest. Team Seven's eyes darted toward the sound, but before Sai or Sakura could respond the last Uchiha was off and running. Sai ignored Sakura's cries for Sasuke to be patient before falling in line. _This is not good_ , he thought as he raced toward his teammate, _Sasuke-san isn't thinking like he normally does. What is wrong?_

Sai peered over his shoulder to see Sakura closing in. Satisfied that she would be safe, he increased his speed before jumping onto a branch and observing his teammate locked in hand-to-hand combat with an older Genin.

Sasuke sent a roundhouse kick toward his adversary who backed up and dodged low before jumping further back attempting to create distance between them. The older Genin brought his arms up to protect against another volley of punches before his head lurched to the side from an elbow from his attacker. Sasuke continued his barrage of punches and kicks and continued to send his opponent skidding back.

Both looked at each other as they gasped for hair. The older Genin's eyes widened when the Uchiha appeared before him out of thin air. He brought an arm up to block a kick that came for the side of his head. He could feel a crack from the blow but didn't get much time to respond as another kick landed on his exposed side. He was sent flying. He put both hands on the ground as he started coughing, blood coming with every upheaval.

Sasuke rushed him looking to end the skirmish before he was suddenly stopped. He fought the restraints until he caught sight of his teammates ink-based strings. His eyes whipped to his side as he saw Sai land next to him. "What are you doing Sai? We have to get those scrolls, this was our entire plan! Let me go," he ordered.

"Take a look around you," Sai said with a deadpanned expression. "Even if he were to have the scrolls they would do him no good."

Sasuke's eyes darted around the area before his gaze came to a body thirty meters away. Blood was pooled around the still figure, but Sasuke could not see a cut from the back profile he was given. A few meters away from the downed ninja was another hurt shinobi. From the looks of his clothes and his heavy breathing he was near the epicenter of the explosion. Sasuke's eyes stopped when he noticed the hitai-ate, they were Konoha nin.

"We were taken by surprised from a trio of shinobi from Ame." Sakura had landed next to two boys and gasped when she saw the state of the other Konoha team. She looked to the still mobile Genin. He was older then they were and it showed in his height. He had silver tied in a ponytail. He had a thinner physique with a few cuts and bruises. His glasses showed a crack on one of the lens. "They were after both of our scrolls before the time ran out. We sent them back but not without suffering injuries. Misumi took the worst of it. He was caught in that explosion you heard and took shrapnel to the chest. I was healing him when you guys showed up."

"Is-is there anything we can do?" Sakura asked as she helped the older Genin to his feet. She watched as he began to move over to his teammates but not before being stopped by Sasuke.

"What's your name?" the black haired teen demanded.

The silver haired Genin adjusted his glasses to get a better look at his previous attacker. "Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto."

"We'll make you a deal Kabuto," Sasuke began. "We will stay and cover you and your teammates while you work on their injuries. In exchange you give us your scrolls."

"What?" Sakura nearly bursted from the comment. "Sasuke they are Konoha nin, allies, we can't just abandon them."

"She is right Sasuke," Sai agreed. "Kakashi said that those who abandon their friends are less than trash. We ne-"

"No no that is alright," Kabuto interrupted the trio. "Even if we were to make it to the tower in time we would never pass. One of us is incapacitated and another can barely stand let alone fight. As for me, well after I'm doing all I can to help my friends. I don't know if I will even be able to make it to the tower in time. They will send ANBU out to help those still stuck in the forest. If you can help us and watch our backs then our scrolls will be yours. Hey at least someone from our village will pass, right?"

Team Seven looked at each other. It was Sai who spoke first. "We are both able to pass and aid a fellow Konoha shinobi. Seems a perfect trade."

Sasuke nodded his head. He had expected his response. While Sai annoyed him, he could at least think through things logically. His eyes made their way to Sakura who paused a little bit. Finally she nodded her head. "You have a deal."

Kabuto sighed in relief before making his way over to his downed teammate. He placed his hands above a large scar that was on his teammates chest. Team Seven watched as his hand began to glow green and the injury began to heal.

"What type of jutsu is that?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

Kabuto hummed as his hands maneuvered gently around the large wound, his eyes never leaving his patient as he answered the young kunoichi's question. "It is called the Mystical Palm. It is a medical jutsu that was brought to prominences by Senju Tsunade, a member of Konoha's legendary Sannin. She is a benchmark for all of us in the medical division. She, after all, is the only reason our line of work has any credibility," he explained.

"You're a part of the Medical Corpses?" Sakura asked shocked at the revelation. "You look maybe a few years older than us."

Kabuto exhaled as he seemed to be finished with his teammate that was in the worst condition. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well I'm actually 19 and this is my 7th shot at these exams." His demeanor seemed to drop as he examined his two teammates. "But it seems like I will be back for an 8th trip again. I got into the medical division hoping it could help in the second round in case a scenario like this happened. Of course it helps that your adoptive father is the head of the hospital."

Team Seven remained silent, as the somber tone of the silver haired Genin seemed to kill all conversation. They watched the surrounding area before hearing a grunt. They turned to see Kabuto sitting with his back to a tree gasping for air while his final teammate seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

"Well you got your cover," Sasuke said with bite as he eyes the older Genin. "Now hold up your end of the bargain."

Kabuto chuckled as he reached into his equipment pouch and produced two scrolls. "Touchy, touchy. No wonder the Uchiha were known for their impatience. You're like an Inuzuka ninken waiting for a bone." Kabuto threw him the scrolls. "You better hurry. It took me longer than expected to heal my teammates. You may not have much time."

"Will you be alright?" Sakura asked tentatively.

Kabuto waved her off. "No team still out here will take the time to even ask me a question. Two opponents out cold and a third with hardly a drop of chakra. They won't waste their precious time on us."

Team Seven nodded at their ally before continuing on their way to the middle of the Forest of Death. Kabuto sat there staring at the canopy above before he heard a groan. He turned to see Tsurugi Misumi coming to.

Misumi groaned before turning his head. His vision flickered a bit before focusing on a smirking Kabuto. "You're a bastard," he said in a scratchy voice. "Setting off an explosion on your own teammates. You really are as sadistic as they say."

Kabuto just hummed as he examined his teammate. "I was only following Orochimaru-sama's orders. His will was for Team Seven to pass, by any means necessary."

"So you blow us half way to kingdom-come?"

Kabuto shrugged his shoulders. "They had no time to find a different set and we had no real intentions to pass these exams anyways. We are here to merely collect data."

Misumi just grunted.

•••••

Their injuries, and those reported by the team from Ame, fit the scenario Team Seven gave in the debriefing, but something didn't feel right. The whole scenario felt all too convenient for Naruto's tastes, something that Ibiki and Anko taught him, thoroughly. If something in the ninja world seemed too easy or too straightforward then something was happening in the shadows.

Of course he couldn't really bring his suspicions up to Anko right now. Since his 'little stunt' as she eloquently put it, he wasn't necessarily on the short list of people she wanted to deal with. Anko was tense during the last three days of the test, something Naruto took note of, but Kami knew he wasn't going be the one to question her. Still their little argument in the Forest of Death had put a damper on their interactions. If Anko didn't have her eyes on him directly then she had the members of the T&I Division babysitting him, and if you asked Naruto, he had an ANBU trailing him too.

Naruto took a quick glance to the group of proctors and the Hokage. Naruto's eyes met with Anko's and for a brief moment he saw worry, but it was quickly covered with a smirk and a flash of the eyes back to the candidates.

Naruto sighed before returning his sights to the fifth team in the line. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Team Eight. Hinata was frantically messing with her fingers, her eyes darting around. Her entire posture screamed uncomfortable. Naruto's eyes moved to the self-proclaimed alpha of the group. He noticed Kiba's jacket slightly shaking, he leaned over a little bit to see Akamaru shaking inside of Kiba's jacket as the Inuzuka tried desperately to console his ninken. Naruto's eyes then darted to their true leader. Team Eight went as Shino did, while Kiba may have been the backbone, Naruto knew the wits of the group resided in the Aburame. He reflected his team the best. Naruto saw Shino ramrod straight, even stiffer than normal. Naruto's could barely make out the crawling of the insects he used; they seemed restless. What the hell had Team Eight in a panic?

They had been waiting for Naruto when he had arrived at the tower, two scrolls already in their possession. Being out in the Forest of Death less than a day, one would think they would be fine, but for the lack of physical injuries they had they made up for in a mental strain similar to a person coming out of an interrogation with his sensei. The entire time Team Eight had kept to themselves, and Naruto, still being in hot water with Anko, couldn't even talk to his friends.

Naruto noticed Akamaru's vision shift in only one direction, and each time his shivering would increase. Naruto knew exactly where that glance lead, straight to the biggest mystery of these exams: Sabaku no Gaara.

His team was unfazed and broke the previously held record by an astonishing time of an hour and thirty-seven minutes. For himself, Naruto didn't even know if he could make it to the tower in that time when he first entered Training Ground 44. Most peculiar of all was that their wasn't a scratch on Gaara at all. His siblings had a few scratches, running through the forest is bound to earn a person a few scratches from branches, but he had nothing. No scratch marks, smudge marks, nothing. It unnerved Naruto even more than the fact he could still feel his tenant prowl his cage whenever he was near the boy, that and the bloodlust that rolled off the redhead always made him want to vomit.

Naruto's heard the distinct cough of Gekko Hayate, the proctor of the third exam. It amazed him that such a man was a highly decorated ANBU, one look at the current Tokubetsu Jonin and one would have guessed he wasn't anything more than an average Chunin. However it was not always so. Before the current coughing fits that plagued him, Hayate was a healthy young man, similar to any shinobi of Konoha. It was during a dangerous mission, Anko never told him exactly what, the group he was leading came upon a shinobi that used poisoned gas. Sacrificing his life to save his comrade, Hayate fought in the gas. He came out victorious but not before bearing his own scares. The damage to his lungs was said to be so thorough, so intense, that he could never be a full time shinobi again, still he found ways to serve his village.

While it wasn't much, to Naruto the man was someone to be respected not pitied. Naruto listened as the third exam was explained. He had scoffed when Hiruzen had commented that the exam was to 'enhance the relationships of the villages'. Even Naruto could see through the bullshit, it was more like an interview. The village with the best outcomes would get the best jobs, the best jobs bringing the most money, and with that came prosperity.

Memories flashed through his mind of his encounter with the Iwa shinobi. If these exams were suppose to mirror real combat then there would no friends made here, only bloodshed and grudges.

He waited patiently as the teams ascend to the opposite side of the balcony, directly across from him. He lurched forward as his sensei patted him on the back. He looked to see his sensei's ear to ear smile with Ibiki leaning over the edge of the railing as he looked down toward the stadium below.

"Don't look so down and in the dumps gaki," she said with chirpiness in her voice that hadn't been there the last few days. "You look like a spoiled brat who's been sent to timeout."

"Sure felt like I was in one the last few days," Naruto mumbled. Ibiki chuckled while Anko gave him a glare.

"He got you there Anko," Ibiki stated. "Besides if you were the kid wouldn't you want to be out there?"

"Eh he's got time," Anko said as she leaned on the back wall so Ibiki and Naruto were in front of her. She shrugged her shoulders as she continued her point. "It's not like he isn't going to be training and working like a Chunin by the time of the next exam anyways. As far as we're concerned he is already a Chunin, Ibiki. You know that."

"But it's not the same," whined Naruto. "Doing Chunin work and saying you're actually a Chunin are two different things. Plus then I can wear one of those cool flak jackets."

Both Anko and Ibiki chuckled at the youngest member of the T&I Division, though unofficially but to them he was still a member of the group. Ibiki looked over his shoulder to Anko. "Should I tell him or you?"

Anko smirked. "I might as well." She turned to Naruto with that smirked still present. "Those flak jackets are overrated. Fact is a kunai is still a kunai and those don't protect as much as you'd think. On top of that there tight and don't breathe while constricting your motion. Plus, come on, they don't look as cool as trench coats."

Naruto just shook his head with his own smile on. He felt relieved that his sensei was calmer now and cracking jokes like she use too. It also helped that Ibiki was around. He was like a second sensei to Naruto and, while it was weird at times, he felt like the T&I Division were the family he always wanted.

"The Preliminary Matches will now begin," Naruto heard over a fit of coughing from the third exam proctor. All eyes went to the board as names raced past. The tension was finally cut when two names popped up on the board. He heard sighs, whether they were good or bad he couldn't tell. Some may have been disappointed about not going first, others relieved they could wait a few rounds and others about the fact they had dodged a bad match up.

On the board, for all to see, were the names of Akimichi Choji and Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi sighed in both relief but also uneasiness. The matchup could have been worse for Sasuke, but he was more worried about the mark he had just sealed. _If this had been a different match up he may have been tempted to use it._ Kakashi thought as he eyed his student's opponent. He, with the very limited knowledge of sealing he possessed, had just sealed Sask.'s Curse Mark. Though not ideal, the mark would remain sealed as long as his student kept his composure and will power.

Choji had dropped the bag of chips he was munching on. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sarutobi Asuma look down at him with soft eyes that gave him reassurance.

"You've trained hard for this Choji," Asuma encouraged the boy. "I know you're ready. And if you win I'll buy you all the barbecue you can eat."

Suddenly a fire was lit in Choji's eyes. "Alright I'm gonna go out and win!"

Naruto smiled as he saw the portly Genin sprint his way onto the floor below. His opponent didn't share that same enthusiasm. Even for Sasuke, the boy seemed dull and angry. Something also didn't feel right about his chakra. Naruto couldn't explain it but it didn't sit right with him.

The Sandaime looked down as the boy's stared at each other waiting for the signal to begin. _Was this the right thing to do?_ He looked out of the corner of his eyes to see an apprehensive Anko. _Did Anko make the right call by letting Sasuke continue these exams?_

Those same thoughts ran through Anko's head, but one look at the mop of yellow hair in front of her quelled all arguments. _It was the right call._ She thought as her eyes moved back to the battle below.

Hayate looked to his left and right. "Are the competitor's ready?" Getting a nod from both he put a hand in the air. The room grew quiet before he brought it down. "Hajime!"


	20. Hajime!

**Hey guys I am back with another chapter of Lord of Foxes. Before I get to the actual chapter I want to clear a few things up. I am going to present some things on clans that I assume or theory craft on in this chapter and subsequent chapters along with fuinjutsu and the role of different parts of seals. That will come up much more down the road but you see a bit of it here in this chapter. Now don't freak out they are just theories and doesn't mean you have to agree with them. Just how I see and explain it.**

 **Again, as I always ask my wonderful audience, please feel free to review this chapter and tell me what you think. Tell me if my character development is legit or seems way off. That is something that I strive to improve on in all my stories so they seem natural and not forced. Tell me what you think in general, likes, dislikes etc.**

 **Not sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 20**

"Hajime!" Hayata jumped out of the way as he was expecting both competitors to rush forward. He paused when they both got into stances and stared at each other.

Naruto looked down with an eyebrow quirked. _How can they just stand there like that?_ Naruto thought before he turned slightly to see Ibiki hold his head in a hand as he leaned lethargically on the railings of the balcony. Naruto continued to look around noticing a trend: the Jonin, minus Asuma and Kakashi, looked bored while the Genin seemed excited and on the edge of their seats. "Why are they just standing there?"

Ibiki gave the boy a board scoff before moving and standing up straighter. "Basic philosophical similarities in fighting styles," Ibiki stated as if it was obvious. "Take two families that work at a . . . slower pace than yourself pitted against each other and fights will always begin like this."

"But why?" Naruto asked. "When Choji and I spar he seems to be willing to initiate the fighting."

"That's because you aren't as quick as the Uchiha," Anko responded from behind the pair. Naruto turned slightly to see Anko leaning back on the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She shrugged when she saw Naruto glare at her. "Well it's true gaki. When was the last time you sparred with Choji? The Academy? Even then your speed wasn't the best and, while the Akimichi aren't known for their speed, Choji could go a little more on the offensive. Plus that was a spar, this is the Chunin Exams. The Akimichi, while not known for their brains, initiate fights only in known conditions, conditions that are engrained in them from the moment they could pick up a kunai."

Ibiki broke in and continued where Anko left off in near perfect fluidity. "That is why Akimichi pair so well with a Nara and a Yamanka. Using the Nara's shadow techniques to limit the ways of escape or maneuverability of their enemy, along with possible knowledge of the thoughts of an enemy probed by an elite Yamanka, nullifies any discrepancies they may have in regards to speed. Out in the open the kid knows he can't go toe to toe when starting so far away, close quarters well maybe but he has to get there first."

"But that is also what the Uchiha would want as well," Anko took her turn. "The Interceptor taijutsu style the Uchiha pride themselves on is reactionary, not completely but enough to set a trend. The Interceptor uses the Sharingan to see and block strikes while also providing windows to counterstrike. In the hands of a good shinobi without the Sharingan the style can still be passable, but lacks a little."

Anko smirked as she saw the cogs going in circles as Naruto took the information. "Plus those two wouldn't let their adrenaline get to their heads like a certain blond haired maggot I know." Anko snorted when Naruto tried to defend himself. "Whatever, you are more jittery than a two year old on candy when you get to spar with someone knew." Naruto was about to say something when he saw movement below.

Sasuke had had enough waiting. With a grunt he rushed forward despite his muscles crying out in pain. Choji ducked a punch before jumping to the side. Sasuke used the momentum from the missed punch to spin himself while he attempted to kick the Akimichi heir. Choji jumped further back but couldn't find his balance before Sasuke was on him. Choji took two punches before attempting to retaliate. Sasuke saw the flailing attempt. He easily ducked before sweeping his legs and taking out the bigger shinobi's feet. Choji fell with a thud.

Choji groaned out as he opened his eyes to see Sasuke lunge at him. Choji quickly put his feet up and caught the lunging Genin in the gut. Choji caught the slowed arm before twisting and reversing their positions so he was now on top. He smiled as he found himself in an advantageous position with Sasuke unable to get into a guard position. His smile faded when he felt two feet push him off his opponent before he could even throw a punch.

Sasuke got up snarling. He should have already won the fight but somehow one of the worst fighters in the Academy was keeping him at bay. Sasuke could feel a buzzing that seemed to reverberate throughout his body originating from the junction of his neck and collarbone. The buzzing increased to infuriate him, as it seemed it was stunting his chakra. _How are they catching up to me?_ Sasuke snarled as he saw hope and confidence begin to spread on his opponent's face.

Choji got up with a smile on his face. While he was panting and felt a few bruises forming on his chin he wasn't going to complain. He was finally seeing all the hard work that he had put in finally pay off just like Asuma said it would.

•••••

Choji looked on with a disheveled countenance as Naruto worked on a jutsu that Asuma had just taught him. It wasn't that he was jealous that Naruto was taking up time that he could have spent with his sensei, after all Asuma made it a point to train longer on days Naruto would join them so they could still get in the same work. It wasn't even Naruto himself, after all he made the group laugh with his jokes and ever present smile along with extra help on missions that made them go much faster and smoother. No he could never be mad at one of his friends for that.

What made Choji jealous, if anything a little insecure, was Naruto's sudden improvement. Choji worked his tail off to get better, whether he worked with his father or Asuma, he always strived to be better even if he was sometimes lazy. But when it came time to show that he had improved Choji just found himself falling flat on his face. He felt his hard work wasn't actually doing anything to help him. During the Academy he was around middle of the pack when it came to taijutsu, something his family was known for, but Choji could never break the upper ranks held by other clan students like Kiba and Sasuke. No matter how hard he tried he could never beat them. He didn't feel bad about this until Naruto all of the sudden started to beat people that he would have normally lost to. He found his confidence fall even further when Iruka would praise Naruto's hard work. Where was Choji's improvement? Had he not trained relentlessly with his dad everyday? Why couldn't he improve like Naruto was?

The blond currently in front of him compounded this feeling of inadequacy. Choji looked on with a sad, painful look in his eyes as Naruto nearly got the jutsu down in only thirty minutes of learning it. What made it worst was that Asuma had stated that this jutsu had helped him develop his chakra manipulation with his trench knives. _Asuma must see real talent if he is willing to teach Naruto that skill. That's his favorite technique._

Choji was shaken from his thoughts when he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. He looked up to see his sensei smiling at him with a cigarette sticking out of the side of his mouth. "What's got you so down Choji?" Asuma asked with humor in his voice. "Ran out of snack rations already?"

"Um . . . No Asuma-sensei I still have a bag or two," Choji muttered.

Asuma quirked an eyebrow at his student's response. Normally during a break from training Choji would be shoveling food in his mouth like someone was going to steal it from him. Asuma looked over Choji's shoulder to see Choji's favorite brand of barbeque chips just sitting there, two whole bags. With a little more concern Asuma pressed his student. "You're feeling okay aren't you Choji? You aren't getting sick on me are you?"

Choji just shook his head as he saw Naruto throw kunai that were laced with wind chakra again and again, all the while improving each time. "No I'm fine sensei," Choji said with a sigh.

Asuma began to really worry about his charge before he heard a yell of celebration from the middle of the training ground. "I did it dattebayo! I told you I'd get it Asuma-sensei," Naruto shouted as he point at a stone pillar that had a kunai embedded in it. There were cracks around the deep impression left by the wind-enhanced kunai.

"Oi, baka, shut up," the voice of Yamanaka Ino came from behind the duo. "Some of us are trying to enjoy our lunch peacefully like normal people." There was a grunt of agreement that came from the napping Nara who attempted to enjoy a little snooze under the shade of a tree.

Asuma chuckled at the reaction of the group. "That Naruto, always raising a ruckus. But he works hard you have to admit."

"Y-Yeah he does," Choji said in a depressed whisper.

Asuma finally seemed to piece things together, or so he thought. "Are you upset that I am teaching Naruto elemental jutsus, Choji?" He was answered by the shake of the head. "Are you mad that he is joining us for training every now and then?" Again a shake of the head was the only response. "Choji, if you're upset you know you can always come and talk to me. I'm your sensei first and foremost. I can always find time later to help Naruto."

"It . . . It isn't Naruto." Choji sat and continued to watch the boy who was now lying on his back with a big smile on his face. "When am I going to finally see improvement?"

Asuma quirked an eyebrow at his student. "What are you talking about Choji? You're improving a ton."

"But not like everyone else," he nearly shouted. Choji saw the shock on his sensei's face from his little outburst. He sighed before looking at the ground. "I work just as hard as the others but it doesn't seem to be paying off for me like it is for them. I mean Shikamaru's chakra has increased so much since the Academy and now he can control his shadows even better because of it. Ino's moved on to the more difficult jutsus of her clan after mastering the basics, but me? I seem to be getting left behind. Then there is Naruto.

"I use to be able to beat him, but now I can barely even tag him with a punch while he crushes me. I can't even pin him when I try to grapple with him. I know Naruto works hard but it isn't like I just sit around eating all day! I work with Team Ten then go home and spar with my dad for hours, going through katas and grappling but it feels like each time I spar against anyone my age the ass kicking they give me only gets worse and worse."

Choji put his head in his hands as he felt a few tears leak out of his eyes. It was bad enough he was complaining like he was, but he couldn't let his sensei see his tears. "I just feel like my hard work is for nothing," he muttered into his hands.

He heard a chuckle before feeling a few pants of his back. Choji didn't dare look up to see the look of mockery that he knew was on his sensei's face. He wasn't expecting what he heard though.

"That explains why that last punch you got me with hurt more than it did a week ago," Asuma joked as he rubbed his chin. "That extra training with your pops really worked." Asuma laughed as he saw his student's stunned expression. He gave his student a smile before continuing. "You have no idea how wrong you are Choji. You have improved tremendously in the time we have been together. You have gotten stronger, your chakra control has improved along with your kunai and shuriken throwing skills and you have even gotten a step or two faster."

Asuma put a hand on his student's head, who was now staring at him dumbfounded. "Choji, just because your improvement doesn't look the same as everyone else's doesn't mean it isn't there. No matter how lost the battle may seem that gives you no right to quit. You can never give up because that next day could finally be the day that you see your hard work payoff. You think I was successful at everything I did the first try?" Choji just looked at him before slowly nodding his head.

Asuma chuckled as he unzipped his vest and lifted his undershirt to reveal a scar that crossed his stomach. "That little beauty right there was from my very first attempt with my trench knives in an actual spar. Without chakra I might add you. Spent a week in the hospital for that one." Asuma zipped his vest up as he leaned back and looked out at the training ground. "But despite that massive failure I didn't quit. I picked those trench knives up as soon as I could and continued to work hard, continued to use them in spars even if it meant I would lose. I did this until I started winning, then I worked harder to improve. Now they are my favorite tools to use in a fight."

Asuma sighed happily before turning to his student. He put a hand on Choji's shoulder, as he looked the Genin in the eyes. "That taught me a very important lesson: hard work pays off. Sometimes though you just have to be patient and soon you will start seeing those improvements. It is just around the corner for you Choji. I know it."

"You really mean that Asuma-sensei?" Choji asked with hope in his eyes.

Asuma smirked before standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. He walked into the training ground as he answered the Akimichi. "I'd be willing to bet a week's worth of barbeque on it Choji."

•••••

Asuma had a proud smile on his face as he saw Choji rise. He could see the confidence begin to build in the young shinobi as the two squared off again. He looked out of the corner of his eyes to see Kakashi standing seemingly aloof to the happenings below them but Asuma, having been around the Sharingan wielder for a good portion of his life, could see he was standing on pins and needles. _Choji has really improved; he even has Kakashi worried about the match._

He looked at the normally loud and boisterous Yamanaka Ino. She stood in front of the railing gripping her hands together, the look of confliction clearly written on her face. He gave a sigh when the sound of Sakura's voice screaming encouragement for her 'Sasuke-kun' rang through the arena. _I'm glad Ino wasn't paired with the Uchiha._

Kakashi wasn't worried about the outcome of the fight; however, he believed it was a forgone conclusion Sasuke would win, but it was the means with which Sasuke would win that worried the Jonin. _If he listens and trusts me he can still win, but he can't use his bloodline, not right now at least._

Sasuke, for his part, had to just grit his teeth as the words of his sensei reverberated through his head.

•••••

Sasuke grabbed his shoulder has his body racked with pain. He fell and convulsed a bit before screaming in agony. He calmed down enough to turn his head and look his sensei in his one visible eye. Not trusting his voice he decided to just glare at the man before him.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets as he moved to the door of the room the duo were occupying. "The restriction seal used will keep the mark from affecting your chakra too much." He paused at the door, choosing his next words carefully. "However you are barred from using your Sharingan for the rest of day."

"What?" Sasuke barked. "How could you ban what makes my clan elite when you use it too?"

Kakashi turned back with a firm look in his eye. "The seal will only keep the mark at bay as long as your will is strong enough, this is based, to some extent, on your chakra. As a ninja we are trained to reach for every advantage in a fight and the Sharingan is quite the advantage. That is also its inherit risk to you, Sasuke." Kakashi watched as the boy stood up and glared at the Jonin. Kakashi sighed, the sealing had taken a lot out of him if he was being honest. "The Sharingan takes a lot of chakra to maintain, something you don't have right now. You're running low on chakra as it is. If your chakra runs out entirely the pull from the mark might be too much for you to resist. It is imperative that you do not use your Sharingan. Is that understood?"

"Crystal," Sasuke muttered as he brushed by his sensei to join the waiting Genin in the arena.

•••••

 _The loser got lucky. He won't pin me again._ Sasuke gritted his teeth as he rushed forward. He reached Choji before throwing a right hook. Choji brought his arm up and easily blocked the blow before spinning and attempting to clip Sasuke with a back fist. Choji looked up to see Sasuke spinning the air.

Sasuke landed behind the Akimichi who turned and caught the kick that was aim for his head. Choji grunted as he threw Sasuke across the arena. Sasuke hit the floor and rolled into a crouched position. He looked to see Choji moving his way. Sasuke starting running through hand signs before jumping backwards.

Once he stopped on the tiger seal he brought his left hand to his mouth and breathed in. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu," he said before releasing a ball of fire. Seeing Choji barely dodge it, Sasuke sent a second charge. He was set to release another ball when a pulse rocked his body resonating from the Curse Mark on his neck. He grunted in pain as his jutsu was disturbed.

Choji had barely managed to dodge the first two balls of fire that had crashed into the tiled floor and left mini craters in their wake. Choji was too close now to dodge a third one. He had to go for broke. "Partial Expansion Jutsu," he yelled as he threw a punch with his right hand. His fist expanded rapidly before colliding into the black haired teenager and slamming him into the wall he had been near.

Choji was panting pretty good as his fist returned to its normal size. He smiled as Sasuke slid from the crater in the wall where he had impacted after the Akimichi's clan jutsu. Choji grasped his wrist a bit before seeing the proctor starting to walk his way to the downed shinobi.

Hayate was shocked at the outcome. He expected to announce the Uchiha as the winner, not the Akimichi and not this quickly either. He saw the downed combatant. He raised his hand about to end the fight. "Sasuk-" he was interrupted by a chuckle coming from the Genin as he picked himself up.

His eyes began to widen as part of the boy's featured began to glow purple with an array of seals over half his body. What made Hayate really freeze, a decorated ANBU member though he was, were the spinning, red Sharingan eyes staring at him. He shook off his stupor before coughing into his hands. "Yes, very good. Carry on then," he said before jumping out the way.

Sasuke chuckled as he brought a hand up and brushed away some blood from his mouth. He stared down his opponent who had suddenly lost his smile. "Don't get too comfy loser," Sasuke said menacingly. "You got lucky once, but now this fight is over."

Before Choji could even respond he was being sent flying by a kick to the sternum. Choji gasped as he hit ground. He turned just in time to push himself up and away from a furious punch from the enrage Uchiha. Choji had barely gotten to his feet before the onslaught continued.

Kakashi fiddled with ninja wire he used to sew the pockets of his ninja pants with. He had used such a method before in which he could keep material, like deadly wiring, hidden from view. Using the wire as the thread for the pockets allowed him quick access if he had somehow found himself without a weapon. While it wasn't the best backup plan he never thought he would be forced to use it to stop one of his students from causing mayhem during the Chunin Exams. _Dammit Sasuke why couldn't you avoid using your Kekkei Genkai?_

What had been a fight in his favor was quickly becoming a nightmare as Choji took punch after punch. For every one he blocked another one, along with a few kicks, were already being thrown. Choji, trying to change the flow threw his momentum forward going for a kick to his opponent's ribs, one he hoped would at least slow his opponent down. His eyes widened when he saw a kick coming quicker from his opponent. Choji couldn't react as the kick connected and set him backwards onto the ground.

He lay there, splayed out on the ground, and teetered between consciousness and blacking out. The only thing registering in the rocked Genin's head was the ridicule of his opponent.

"Told you this fight was over. You were as bad as Naruto in Academy but at least he improved," Sasuke spat. "You? You'll always be a loser."

Naruto stared down at Sasuke with a look of concentration as he studied the markings that had appeared on the Uchiha's body completely ignoring the jab at his skills. _Those are the markings of a releasing mechanism on a seal._ As Naruto surveyed the markings on the Uchiha more and more he could see the signs of a portions of basic storage sealing techniques Suzuki had shown him. While it was more complex than Naruto had ever seen before, for the life of him he couldn't figure out what exactly it was releasing, he could notice the pattern at least. _But why does this seal stay visible when a release seal is usually only visible a second or two during and after release?_

While Naruto was running through his lessons with Suzuki and the other kitsune, Anko was having her own thoughts. _Is . . . Is that what this Curse Mark was suppose to turn into?_ She grabbed her own marked that had slowly started to pulsate, though it wasn't painful, when Sasuke had activated his. _For Kami's sake what has that bastard created?_

"I'm not gonna give up," Choji muttered. "I've worked too hard to stop now. I am gonna prove that hard work pays off." Choji put his hands in a ram seal and concentrated as much chakra as he could. "Leaf-Style Taijutsu: Human Boulder."

Suddenly the torso of the Genin swelled in size. Now Choji looked like a bowling ball larger than his normal size. His head, arms and legs quickly disappeared inside the sphere before chakra shot out of where his legs and arms had been. Spinning at a high rate, Choji took off toward his opponent hoping to end in one shot.

Sasuka growled as chakra began to swirl around him. Unlike the normal blue color chakra tended to manifest itself as, the energy coming off the blacked hair boy was purple and menacing. He yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw a fist forward and hit the human bowling ball straight on. The screeching of Choji's technique ramming itself against the Uchiha's fist was deafening. The two forces pushed against each other before Sasuka began to slowly slide back.

Infuriated Sasuke made a finally push before a surge of purple chakra covered the two. There was an explosion before Choji, still in his technique, went flying from the smoke and slammed into the wall of the arena. He decreased in size and fell to the ground spent and unconscious.

Hayate appeared before the unconscious fighter. He coughed before raising his hand in the air. "Winner of the first match is Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke looked on with a sneer before grabbing his shoulder as the marking on his body vanished and he too fell to the ground.

Suddenly the doors opened to reveal medical teams. The teams rushed forward with stretchers to the two downed competitors. Asuma appeared next to his student. He looked to the lead physician who was at the scene. "How he is?" he questioned.

A green hand swept over the boy before being retracted. "He will recover quickly," the med-nin answered. He looked back to the boy with a look of concentration. "Surprisingly no broken bones but he does have a concussion. We will work to remedy that but that means he won't being training anytime soon."

Asuma nodded in understanding before he heard a groan. Choji began to stir. His vision was blurry, the only thing he could see was the smoke rising from sensei's cigarette that told him who he was looking at. "I'm sorry," he muttered as tears further impeded his vision. "I'm sorry I let you down Asuma-sensei."

His tears paused as he heard a chuckle and a pat on his shoulder as the stretcher rose. "I've never been prouder of you Choji. All that hard work finally paid off." Choji's tears seemed to increase before he passed out again with a peaceful smile on his face.

"Well that was . . . interesting," Ibiki drawled.

He heard two grunts of agreement from his right but nothing else. The pair of Naruto and Anko each were in their own thoughts as they watched the two people get carried off.

Naruto, for his part, felt happy for his friend. Choji had showed a lot of guts and power in his fight. On the other hand he was worried for the teme. _That wasn't normal chakra. What type of fuinjutsu could possibly create that?_ He would have to go ask Suzuki about this and find out more about the ninja art.

Anko looked over when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned slightly to see Sarutobi Hiruzen giving her a look of skepticism. Anko bit the inside of her cheek to break her out of the gaze of the man while trying to not look weak. She was having her doubts about the Uchiha, it was clear the mark had a negative effect on the boy, but she wasn't the only one to make the decision. While it had been her call to keep Team Seven in the competition, Hiruzen, as the acting Hokage over the exams and his own shinobi, had the final say in the matter. _It wasn't just me. He made his grave as well._

The duo of sensei and student were shaken from their thoughts as a cry was heard throughout the stadium. "Gai-sensei it is now my turn to show my flames of youth," a green clad shouted out at the top of his lungs.

"Lee go out there and show them the power of youth," another, almost identical shinobi yelled as he hugged the younger teen.

"Gai-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"Are those two serious?" Naruto questioned as he saw the interaction before the girl he had caught in the first examine with buns in her hair grab the Genin and throw him onto the arena floor. Naruto raised an eyebrow as the shinobi spun in a tight spiral before landing gracefully on the floor below.

He could here a collective groan come from his two companions. "He hasn't grown up a bit, has he?" Anko asked with exacerbation as she covered her eyes.

"Like you're one to talk. If I remember correctly a certain purple haired kunoichi came barreling into a room like a madwoman and thoroughly embarrassed herself recently." Ibiki chuckled as he saw the glare his subordinate gave him.

"At least I did it trying to be cool," Anko defended herself. "Those don't have an excuse except maybe having a screw or two loose in those heads of theirs."

Naruto turned back from the bickering T&I Division members to see the leader of the Oto Genin walk out into the middle of the floor, his body still hunched over and looking more like an old man than a deadly shinobi. Naruto looked up at the board to see the names of Rock Lee and Kinuta Dosu showing in green letters. _Well at least I will get see what that Oto-nin has under that sleeve of his._ Naruto thought as Hayate lifted his arm in the air about to begin the second match of the preliminary rounds.


	21. Piercing Sound, Hard Fist, Crushing Sand

**Hey guys! I am happy to bring another chapter of Lord of Foxes. Sadly I didn't get this one out as fast as possible but I have set a goal to have a new chapter out every other week if not every three weeks. We'll see how it goes but I should be able to hit my deadlines. This chapter feels like a filler for me and, again, the Chunin Exams weren't the most fun things to write for me, but I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **Like always please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think. Any mistakes you see or your thoughts on how I portrayed characters and specifically their character development which is something I tend to struggle with. Tell you what you think, I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 21**

Dosu walked slowly to the middle of the arena all the while keeping his eyes on the door that the unconscious Uchiha had been seen vanishing into. Anger began to boil just underneath his skin as he thought of his master. _What purpose does it have if we are to fight and kill the bastard when he puts that blessing on him? He has not dared to gift the mark on myself, so what makes the Uchiha so special? Those eyes? Are we just mere puppets?_ Dosu's anger hit a tipping point as he turned his eyes to his opponent as Lee finally spoke.

"It seems like you cannot escape our clash after all," Lee said with a smile. He stood straight with his left hand forward and his right hand in a fist behind his back. He was slightly turned from his adversary, but everyone could see he was prepared despite his lax form. "I will finish what I intended to start during the second exam."

Dosu chuckled as he pulled his right sleeve up to reveal a metal gauntlet with holes on the forearm piece. "By all means, show me what the 'Handsome Devil of Konoha' is all about." _I will show Orochimaru-sama that I am no pawn in this little game of his. He has sorely underestimated me._

"I will gladly fight and show you the fire of my youth," Lee boasted proudly.

"And I will show you why you shouldn't mess with other people's business," Dosu said calmly with venom laced in his voice.

•••••

The trio of Oto Genin looked on as the blond vanished into the canopy above, his footsteps quickly dissipating into the sounds of the forest around them. "Good riddance if you ask me," Zaku muttered as his eyes returned to the shaking form of the pinked haired kunoichi in front of them. "With him gone this job will be much easier."

"Why are you doing this? Why attack a defenseless enemy? We don't even have a scroll," Sakura shouted with tears threatening to come from her eyes. She was terrified, never before (even in Nami) had she felt so defenseless. She was alone, her teammates were unconscious and Naruto, who had been her only backup, had been whisked away leaving her on an island.

The trio began to slowly approach, still wary of any possible traps set by Naruto. "That is quite simple," Dosu said slowly. "We are here to prove that technology has finally surpassed the Kekkei Genkai of a by gone era. And what better way to do that than by eliminating the infamous Sharingan that Konoha holds so dear?"

Sakura reached for a kunai. She pulled out the one that had been given to her earlier and cursed herself as it shook in her grasp in front of her. "I won't let that happen." The statement only made the trio laugh. There was no power in her words, no confidence, only trepidation and hesitation.

"Then if you won't let us complete our simple mission, you will die too," Dosu shouted as the trio leapt forward. Suddenly the three shinobi each felt a devastating kick as they shot off in different directions.

Sakura looked up with wide eyes as a Genin clad in green with a red hitai-ate wrapped around his waist and bandages on his arms stood in front of her. He radiated confidence and a self-assurance that only comes from hard work.

"I am sorry but I cannot allow three enemy ninja to hurt such a beautiful maiden," he said before turning his head and giving the shocked Sakura a wink. Sakura sat there stunned with a blush, as she became a stuttering mess. "It is alright you do not have to thank me right now. Maybe later over a dinner." The shinobi turned from her, with a smile on his face, back to the three Oto shinobi who were beginning to get up, all be it very slowly.

Sakura looked on with shock before her inner voice finally realized what he had just said. **_Wait like a date? Like I would ever date a guy with that type of fashion sense!_**

"What's your name?" an annoyed Dosu asked.

"I am the Handsome Devil of Konoha, Rock Lee," Lee said with a smile.

Zaku scoffed as he brought his hands into a seal. "The 'Village Idiot' sounds like a better name for you. We'll blow you away fas-" he stopped when Dosu put his hand up in front of him. "What? Why are you stopping me? We should blow his head off!"

"Because he has backup coming," Dosu answered calmly. "That explosion from the blond punk is bound to bring teams from around the forest looking for an easy scroll. It is easier for us to just cut our losses and move on. After all there is more in these exams to come." Zaku and Kin gritted their teeth before finally agreeing to the suggestion.

"It is not very youthful to run from a fight when you yourself are so willing to fight an unarmed and outmanned opponent," Lee commented before the trio could vanish into the forest.

Dosu turned back to look Lee in the eyes. "When it comes time to fight, you had better be prepared to die." No more words were issued before the team vanished into the trees above.

"Awww I was looking forward to that fight!" Sakura looked up to see a girl with her brown hair in a pair of buns sitting on a tree branch with a kunai twirling in her hands. Standing next to her was a teen with long brown hair held back by his hitai-ate. He looked over the clearing with white, emotionless eyes.

"As reckless as ever Lee," he said while looking at the pair in the clearing. "If you had only waited for a few more seconds then we could have engaged them and gotten the scroll we needed."

"And leave such a youthful maiden on her own?" Lee asked in shock.

Neji took a harsh look at the girl before scoffing. "If she could not defend herself then she does not belong in these exams. It is not our place to play hero. We are here to pass, nothing more and nothing less. We are wasting daylight. We need to get moving and find the scroll we need."

"But-" Lee had no time to counter as the brown haired teen responded harshly.

"We have gone far beyond any responsibility we have for their safety. They are gone and it looks like they will not be returning. Our job here is done," Neji spoke with finality. He gave the girl next to him a nod before jumping into the trees above. Lee sighed before following suit.

•••••

Dosu crouched down and waited for the signal to begin. As soon as Hayate had given the word he shot forward. He brought his arm that held his gauntlet back and prepared to take a swing before his adversary vanished from view. In the next instant he was sent flying as a kick connected with his chest.

"Leaf Hurricane," Lee shouted as he stopped his spinning and took his stance one more time.

Naruto was stunned. He had never seen someone move so fast before in his life. He thought he had been paying attention but was taken completely by surprise as the Oto-nin began to get up off the ground.

Dosu chuckled as he gripped his chest. "Well that will bruise tomorrow. And here I thought you just got the drop on us during the second exam."

"You will be wise to not underestimate my youthful fighting," Lee stated with a confident smile on his face.

"Don't worry that is the last time you will be hitting that hard again," Dosu claimed as he began to inch forward, the gauntlet still ready to attack. He jumped back as Lee was on him again. He moved his head left to avoid a punch before bringing his gauntlet up to block another devastating kick from the Genin.

A shockwave resonated from the impact. Lee winced in pain as his head throbbed. He went to throw a punch at his opponent's chest but stumbled. He could barely register the lunging figure of Dosu in time to block a haymaker. Using both arms he blocked the attack before suddenly falling on the ground and grabbing his head.

Anko's eyes shot from the skirmish to her apprentice who was mirroring Lee below. Naruto was howling in pain as he brought his hands to his ears attempting to stop the sudden ringing that seem to immobilize him. The first shockwave had given him a headache and made his legs wobble, but this sudden high-pitched tone had been debilitating. Above the ringing he could faintly make out the agonizing screams of Kiba and Akumaru.

He had been warned by Twilight and Shadow about the possible damage that could come from continually pumping chakra into his ears, but it had become so natural that he had forgotten he was doing it anymore. Kiba was suffering the same fate; the Inuzuka's reputation for enhanced hearing and smell that mirrored their ninken was resulting in his own pain.

Below Dosu could only scoff as the screams came from the three-downed shinobi. "It seems my jutsu casted a wider net than intended." He looked back with bloodlust at his opponent. "Oh well it got the job done." He unceremoniously kicked Lee in the ribs and set him rolling across the floor of the arena.

Lee coughed up blood as he tried to put shaky hands on the ground and attempted to force himself up. Blood could be seen trickling out of one of his ears. He barely managed to stand up before throwing his body to the side to dodge a wild punch from the Oto-nin but was still sent flying by an unseen force.

"My, my, your taijutsu is certainly commendable if you are still able to stand let alone dodge a punch," Dosu mocked. "For you to do that under your current circumstances you must have true mastery over your body, but your outdated taijutsu cannot dodge technology."

Naruto could feel his equilibrium return while his head stopped ringing. Deep inside he could feel the mutterings of his tenant. The Kyubi mentioned something about damned ears before returning to his slumber. Naruto coughed as his eyes traveled from his concerned sensei who was leaning over him to the fight below. _What was that?_

"Wh-what was that?" Lee mirrored Naruto's own question. He stood on shaky legs and could feel his head swim. He felt his head was moving in all different directions even as the rest of his body stayed still. The disoriented shinobi could barely piece together a coherent thought. _Why won't my body respond?_

"Amazing what happens when your eardrum shatters isn't it? What you are experiencing is a case of vertigo caused by the rupture of the eardrum and the disruption of the inner ear fluids that aid in the equilibrium of the body." Dosu raised his gauntlet up in the air to reveal the numerous holes in the piece of metal. "This tool creates vibrations in the air that I can control using my chakra and direct them anywhere I want, even magnifying them beyond anything the human ear is built to withstand."

"S-so? That will not stop me. I have come too far to quit now," Lee stumbled over his words. His balance was improving slowly but it was still a struggle to stay standing.

"Without your sense of balance you cannot possibly use your beloved taijutsu," Dosu pointed out with a hint of victory in his voice. "Which means this fight is over."

Might Gai looked down with a cool head. If he was worried for his pupil then he hid it well. _While it is true that this impairs Lee's ability to preform taijutsu there are always avenues around walls such as these. Lee's been doing that his entire life. This wall is just one more he has to overcome._

"Why doesn't he just use a wind jutsu?"

Anko could only looked down at her student while she helped him up off the ground. With one hand wrapped around his sensei Naruto was now able to get off the ground. "What was that gaki?"

"I asked why he doesn't just use a wind jutsu or even a lightning jutsu? Wind chakra creates vibrations as well, if strong enough they could be used to counteract the vibrations he is controlling," Naruto explained. "Even a lightning jutsu could possibly change the vibrations in a way that could throw off his chakra by increasing the frequency of the waves."

"That would be a good idea if wasn't for the fact he can't use ninjutsu." Anko and Naruto's eyes widened at the revelation brought along by their viewing companion.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. "How can he not be able to use ninjutsu?"

"A rare medical condition," Ibiki explained.

"And how do you know this Ibiki?" Anko questioned.

"I have had the . . . privilege of hearing Gai's rants about his 'most youthful' students before. The boy's condition came up," Ibiki explained as if it was nothing. "While the boy has chakra flowing through him he cannot release it like a normal shinobi. A shinobi releases chakra through specific spots on the body known as tenketsu. Normally the spots on the body where these are most . . . passable are the feet, hand, mouth and in some cases eyes. However, in very rare cases, these tenketsu can become more rigid and will not allow chakra to be released through the points in order to create jutsu."

"Then how can he use the chakra he has?" Naruto asked in wonderment.

"The boy's genius lies in his ability to divert his chakra into his muscles. While he cannot externalize his chakra he can still internalize it making him faster and stronger, enhancing his taijutsu far beyond those that have been practicing the art twice as long as he has," Ibiki explained before a sad smile appeared on his face. "Still for all that genius the kid seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place if he can't use his strengths and really his only skill."

Dosu rushed forward again and swung his gauntlet-carrying hand. He stumbled forward when his wild swing missed everything he turned to see Lee with a hand on his head trying to lessen the aching pain. He was panting a little and swallowed a lump of vile that threatened to escape.

"My, my to dodge that strike with such ease, and at such speeds in your condition is truly impressive. Too bad you hadn't gotten a better match-up, you may have won," Dosu chided his opponent.

Lee gave an indignant grunt as he bent down on a knee. To most he looked like he was preparing to puke but Naruto could hear the unmistakable click of a contraption being unhooked. "I am too fast for your punches," Lee stammered back.

Dosu scoffed before bringing a kunai up to his gauntlet. "Maybe but the speed of my sound makes you seem like your standing in mud kid." Dosu clanged the kunai on his kunai but was suddenly sent back and careening in the wall of the stadium.

Gai looked down with a proud smile. "Yosh you show him Lee! Show him the youth that burns bright in the Leaf!" He chuckled as he looked down on his protégé with a newfound hope in his eyes.

Kakashi looked at his rival with mild surprise in his lone eyes. Where Lee had been now rested two loose leg weights and a small indent in the ground now resided. "You always liked your weights, aye Gai?" he asked with an amused ring in his voice.

"Weights?" Kurenai's eyes widened when she heard the copycat ninja. "You mean to tell me the kid has been fighting the whole time with weights? Gai why would you let your student willingly disadvantage himself in such a way?"

Gai merely shook his head. "It is not to stunt his growth or his performance. It is to act as a trump card. While normal shinobi have ninjutsu and genjutsu to fight with, Lee has none. No aptitude for two of the three basic ninja arts leaving only taijutsu."

"Then that puts him at an even bigger disadvantage," Kurenai argued.

"Ninjutsu and genjutsu are used to gain a leg up in battle," Gai went on and ignored the genjutsu mistress. "If Lee were to not have a back up, something to improve his skills, like the weights do when they are taken off, then he is fighting with his hand showing. While ninjas hold their cards close to their chest Lee has his visible for the world to see, this just gives him one card they cannot view. This is Lee's response to the advantages others find in ninjutsu and genjutsu."

The Genin were left in shock, even the Jonin were surprised by this explanation. The conversation died down as a moan came from the floor below. Dous held his shoulder before thrusting a fist into the shoulder resulting in a cracking sound as the shoulder was relocated properly. He tried to move it and grimaced as he did. He looked too see the weights and the small dent in the ground in the middle of the weights.

 _How could he dodge my attack? There is no way he could travel faster than my sound._ His eyes turned back to the boy who stood there with a confident smirk on his face in the same stance he had started the match with. _Just who is this guy?_

"I have finally figured out how to beat your jutsu," Lee stated triumphantly.

"Oh and pray tell, what trick is that?" Dosu was seething on the inside. There was no way someone could possibly beat his jutsu. He had the technological advantage, there is no way an ordinary Genin could beat his gauntlet.

"Simple. While your sound may travel at speeds far greater than I could ever move, your eyes cannot." Lee's smile stretched from ear to ear as he explained. "You have to be able to locate your target and project your sound in such a direction to be effective, if you cannot see your target then the speed of your sound is of no use."

Anko slapped her forward when she heard the explanation. "That was his great plan? To run around so he can't be targeted? Hell that is how all jutsu work. I thought you said this kid was a genius Ibiki."

Ibiki shrugged his shoulders as he chuckled at the kunoichi's response. "Genius doesn't mean it has to always be the most intricate. Occam's Razor, Anko. The kid doesn't have to have the most innovative answer to win the fight."

Dosu growled at the way the green-cladded ninja brushed off his jutsu like it was nothing. It was what made him a shinobi. He had been a poor boy, living a life in rags, not unlike most of Oto's Genin. With no family to rely on, no hiden to be taught, his dreams of growing strong and making a name for himself sank away. But that is when his master came by and gave him a chance, the technology, to become more than he could ever dream. It was his own hiden, his own way to carve out his destiny. He would not lose to simple taijutsu.

Before he could move Lee was already in front of him. A silent cry of pain escaped from Dosu's lips as he was sent careening back only for him to feel a force painfully connect with his back and sending him hurling across the arena.

Everyone in the stadium looked on with shock as the Oto Genin was being tossed around like a rag doll. The beating was brutal, unrelenting, and an undeniable show of force. Naruto eyes couldn't even follow the action while his mind went crazy. _I-I can't compete with that speed._ He gritted his teeth as the onslaught continued. _Right now I couldn't hope to beat him. My shadow clones wouldn't last a second and I wouldn't be able to land a jutsu. How far am I behind him?_

Dosu's mind could barely register a coherent thought as his body began to slowly break. He could feel the cracked ribs, the broken bones. If this continued he could be done for. He could hear the faint whistling of his gauntlet as his mind tried to form a plan. _If he stops and stays in one spot I can win._ Suddenly he was sent in the air by a kick to the chin. His body soared through the air until he was parallel to the ground.

"I will finally beat you," Lee said as he appeared underneath the disoriented teen. He went to grab his opponent before freezing. His head rocked with a piercing sound that sent his world into a whirlpool. With his head spinning he could no longer move, feeling paralyzed in mid air.

"Gotcha," Dosu whispered victoriously. Dosu seemed to turn around in mid-air, wind seemingly warping around his gauntlet. He screamed as he punched the Genin with such force that the impact created dust that kicked up around the entire arena. Dosu, however, could not stop his own fall. He collided with the ground and stayed motionless.

"A double knockout?" Anko asked as she looked down at the prone figures on the ground. "That was anticlimactic."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Ibiki responded with amusement ringing in his voice. Both figures moved but it was clear the Oto-nin was more aware of his surroundings. Lee could barely manage to sit up without wobbling.

"How could he take that punch?" Naruto asked in shock. "That had to have caused serious injury."

"Training with Might Gai the kid has probably taken his fair share of beating," Ibiki answered while looking back down there. "Still he should know when enough is enough. All that blood coming out of his ears, it's clear that there is major damage. If he continues this then he could lose his hearing or worse his sense of balance."

Dosu staggered up as he heard a crack. He looked down to see his gauntlet sporting a major crack that ran up the tool nearly breaking it. "It is amazing you are still standing," Dosu managed to say as he coughed and held his ribs. "I pushed as many sounds waves as I could into those last two attacks. Your ears should be shattered, it will be a miracle if you aren't deaf for the rest of your life." He looked over and could see his opponent still struggling to get up before looking at the proctor. Hayate had no intention of stopping this fight. Lee still showed a willingness to fight and he was conscious. "Very well then I will be sure to end it here. You've gained my respect Konoha scum but today you die."

Dosu rushed forward as wind raced around his gauntlet, which was beginning to crack even more. Lee gazed up but couldn't hear anything. He saw Dosu rush forward. _No I can't lose. I can't let Gai-sensei down._ Lee planted a hand on the ground. He screamed with all his might. "The Gate of Opening: Open." As he did that a burst of chakra rushed through the arena.

With his dizziness momentarily decreased he was able to think and move his body. He pumped as much chakra into his left hand that was planted on the ground and into his right leg as he possibly could. Lee pushed himself up onto his left arm and spun bringing his leg up just as Dosu reached him. His kick landed on the side of the Genin's head. A loud boomed echoed through the room as Dosu was sent crashing into the wall of the building headfirst.

The dust settled to reveal Dosu lying in a pool of his own blood, a crack visible on his head from the impact. Medics rushed in with carts to both competitors as Lee was throwing up and shaking. Both Jonin senseis were at their student's sides but one was far more worried than the other.

The medic looking over Dosu looked up to the man in an Oto Jonin vest with a sad expression, he hesitated a bit before barking orders. "There is extensive damage to the spinal cord. Take the team checking on Akimichi-san and have them prepare for immediate surgery. There are also cracks along the skull. Prepare a blood transfusion, he has lost a lot as it is."

The Jonin hummed before walking away. "It the risk taken during the Chunin Exams." His voice sent chills up the medic's spine. It was dark and twisted, holding no remorse for his charge. "He knew what he was doing and the chance he was taking."

Gai, for himself, was trying to calm Lee down. The young man was beginning to shake uncontrollably. He was pushed aside as the lead medic took in the situation. "He is going into shock. We need to get him into surgery. Somebody bring a gas mask and increase the flow of blood. Begin repairing his ear the best you can. We need to stop the bleeding and any damaged caused to the brain." Gai watched as Lee vanished through the doors that lead to the infirmary feeling helpless.

"Was it wise for Gai to teach an ability like that?" Asuma question as he watched the chaos below. "For a Genin to have such an ability is reckless don't you think? Opening a gate when your body is already in a dismal state can only cause more damage."

"Well isn't that how Gai is?" Kurenai commented. "To go at things 100%? It seems to fit the Gai I know."

"But such a technique in the hands of someone so young is reckless. His body isn't fully mature enough at thirteen or fourteen to use that, let alone the weights he trains with," Asuma rebutted.

"You are both forgetting one thing." They turned to see Kakashi watching his old rival with a sad expression on his usually stoic face. It was rare to see him show such an emotion, especially to Gai who he usually acted with indifference towards. While it was true the two were close friends, not many actually witness Kakashi worry about Gai. "Gai, while he can use genjutsu and ninjutsu, isn't proficient at it. Some say for a Jonin his lack of depth in those areas is embarrassing, but he still moves forward. He probably sees a lot of himself in Lee probably even views him as a son. After all he has never been romantically involved with anyone in years and will probably never have a family of his own, something I know saddens him."

Kurenai and Asuma looked back at the normally high-energy Jonin to see his somber face as he walked back up the stairs. "He views him as a son and wants to pass on his legacy to him. The Eight Gates, no matter how destructive to his body they may be, are a part of his legacy. Yes, it was reckless and foolish, but it was someone looking to help a boy he viewed as a son."

Naruto looked down at the scene and could feel vile begin to rise up, images from his fight with the Iwa squad raced through his mind, including the look of fear in the eyes of man he had choked. He viewed the applicants to see their response. Most of the Konoha Genin were pale white or turned away from the scene. The only ones that didn't were Lee's two teammates, the girl asking her sensei about her teammate and the other who had a cold, indifferent look on his face. His eyes moved to the Oto group. The girl looked shaken while the boy was scowling. Finally his eyes moved to Suna. He was not surprised to see Kankuro and Temari still standing composed but his blood pressure spiked when his eyes roamed to Gaara.

The young man had a wild look in his eyes and his body was tense as if he was the one battling below. Naruto could feel the bloodlust rolling off the redhead in waves and it made him uneasy. But there was something else there that felt familiar, a presence that wasn't the same as when he met Sabaku no Gaara in Konoha earlier in the week. And he could tell his tenant was getting antsy as well.

 _"Oi furball what the fuck is going on here?"_ Naruto questioned the tailed-beast that stirring inside his mindscape.

 **"It does not concern you, Kit. Just avoid him,"** the Kyubi answered back.

 _"Like hell it does!"_ Naruto nearly shouted out loud. _"You aren't telling me something. That kid has two different aura's about him. It almost feels like two dif-"_ Naruto's eyes went wide when he began to put the pieces together. _"Kyubi there are more tailed-beasts, aren't there?"_

 **"Yes Kit."**

 _"And there are more people like me? More Jinchuriki, aren't there?"_

 **"Yes."**

 _"He's one of them."_

 **"As perceptive as ever Kit."**

Naruto could now see the look in his eyes he thought had recognized earlier. The same loneliness, the same anger, fear, and even a bit of self-hatred. He could see it all in the redhead's eyes. Past the bloodlust and the crazed look, past the mask, he could see himself reflected in the Suna jinchuriki. "He's exactly like me."

"Huh? What was that gaki?" Anko looked at Naruto who just shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

"It-It's nothing." Naruto tried to compose himself.

Anko just shrugged her shoulder before looking back to see the last two competitors vanish into the depths of the tower. "Well I don't know about you guys but that may be the best fight I have seen in the prelims in a while. That Lee kid is something else."

Ibiki and Naruto both nodded. Their eyes traveled to see two names being revealed. Naruto could feel his breath catch in his throat when one specific name pop up. _Abumi Zaku vs. Sabaku no_ Gaara shown in bright green lights. The sound of swirling sand could be heard before Gaara stepped out of the swirling particles and onto the floor below.

Zaku just grunted before walking down calmly with a smirk on his face. "Dosu may not have been able to win but he was always too cocky. I won't go light," he muttered to himself.

Hayate looked at the two combatants on either side of him, one with a chilling calm about him and the next with a smirk plastered on his face. He began and the match and jumped back.

Zaku immediately ducked followed by the sound of a large crash echo through the room. Imbedded in the wall directly behind where his head was, Zaku could see a plug begin to turn to dust in a small crater. He turned back to see sand begin to leak out of the gourd on the redhead's back. The sand didn't just pour out of the container but danced along the ground around the Suna Genin.

Gaara just stood there with his arms folded in front of him. He could feel the sand dance around him, swirling and moving to his desire. The last fight had sparked a need deep inside of him, the voice that egged him on to prove his worth of living. To see his opponents bleed and die made Gaara feel alive and affirm his existence.

Zaku shook off his brief awe struck feeling. He jumped to his feet. "Huh some fancy sand you got there but let's see if it can survive my sound." He ran through hand seals before pointed both his hands at his opponent. "Ninja Art: Supersonic Slicing Wave Jutsu," he shouted before two large and powerful torrents of air were unleashed. The two tunnels of wind and sound cascaded toward his opponents before colliding with his target. The subsequent explosion sent dust and wind racing through the room. Anko had to cover her eyes from the debris while her trench coat shook violently and flew behind her. The rest of the audience also turned to protect their eyes from the collateral damage of the blast.

Zaku stood up with a victorious smirk on his face. "Sand has nothing against sound." He laughed after thinking he had won before suddenly feeling something crawling at his feet. He looked down to see a sea of sand. He scoffed before kicking the sand away. "Pathetic. Eh guess I hit him so hard his sand got everywhere," he said before laughing again. He went to kick the sand again before the small particles suddenly jumped on the young man.

Zaku was too shocked to scream as the sand twist and turn around him before completely constricting him in to the point only his head could be seen from the body casket of sand he found himself in. "Wha-What is going on?" he asked through harsh breaths as the sand was crushing his lungs.

When the dust finally settled the spectators could see a slowly crumbling wall of sand standing in front the unscathed Suna Genin. "How did you survive my jutsu?" The sand tightened around him cutting off any other thoughts.

The shell around Gaara dissipated. "You talk to much," Gaara muttered. "You are merely an annoying gnat that needs to be squashed." Gaara brought a hand up in front of him with all the digits bent.

"No, no please have mercy!" Zaku shouted. "PLEASE!"

"Silence," Gaara's voiced echoed with finality. "You will be proof of my existence." Gaara pushed his arm forward. "Sand Burial." Zaku's screams were cut shorts and the sand had crushed him. Blood burst from the sand. Red sand was smeared across the floor of the stadium and the walls.

There was an eerie silence that settled around the room that was only filled with the unnerving sound of Gaara's sand returning to his gourd. The sand had dissipated to reveal Zaku's lifeless and mangled body. Team Eight stood frozen, their feet unmoving while their minds raced to find a way to get out of the tower. The only thing keeping them from fleeing was the fact Gaara was staring elsewhere.

Gaara's gaze stayed trained onto Naruto, his sand still dancing about as it was slowly filling his gourd. He wanted nothing more than to fight the young blond, the beast raging inside of him urging him forward, but the Zaku's blood had been enough to satiate this plea.

Naruto could feel himself begin to pull on the chakra of the Kyubi, the Kyubi itself seemed to almost will it into happening. Naruto groaned as he grabbed his head, his vision flicking between being clouded with red and the blackening of passing out. He had to calm down, but the image before him was startling. It was like staring into a mirror, the pain barely concealed in the Ichibi Jinchuriki's eyes were far too clear to Naruto. While Gaara might not have covered it with cold indifference, Naruto still had his own masks, those fake smiles he'd wear to piss off the people around him that cursed his very existence, it was the same. Even the bloody act below him was similar. He had pranked people to get attention, to affirm his own existence.

 _"Kyubi what was that?"_ Naruto asked the creature that was unsettling his already fragile mind. He could feel the Kyubi pacing along the bars.

 **"That was Shukaku, the One-tail. He is known as the Spirit of the Desert. He, and his Jinchuriki, can control sand and bend it to their will using their chakra. That boy used the sand as a defense, blocking the jutsu, it is likely that he has grown so accustomed to it that it happens on its own accord,"** the Kyubi responded.

 _I've got to calm down, I can't keep drawing on the Kyubi's chakra._ Naruto nearly shouted. He could feel his heart rate increase, adrenaline running through his veins. His breathing was beginning to increase and he was beginning to panic.

 **"It is natural for a Jinchuriki to draw upon their tenant's chakra when they feel extreme emotion or fear,"** the Kyubi snickered. **"Do you fear him Kit?"**

Naruto's answer was immediate. _"No."_

 **"Do not fool yourself Kit,"** the Kyubi chided. **"You may deny it but your body doesn't. Increased adrenaline, shortness of breath, the feeling of your legs turning to jello readying themselves to flee. Face it Kit, you feel fear."**

Naruto could not respond as he felt the Kyubi slip back into the far reaches of his mind. The threat seemed to be over, the Suna Genin satiated, but Naruto still felt sick. He didn't even notice Anko trying to shake him when she felt the small amount of chakra begin to leak out from him. It was small, very small, but it could start something that no one wanted.

"Come on gaki we still got paperwork to do," Anko tried to make up an excuse. "Let's go and do some over some ramen huh? On me!"

Naruto shook his head and took a deep breath. "No, no I want to stay and watch. I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," he said with an ear-to-ear smile.

Anko sighed internally, something happened in that last match that unsettled her blond apprentice, enough to the point of pulling on the Kyubi's chakra. Her eyes made a quick flash to Ibiki who gave her a sideways glance. It told her to think about the risks, he had felt it too. While Anko may have worried about him losing control and having to bring him down to stop him, Ibiki worried more about the ramifications it would have on his social life. He could always recover from an ass kicking but if his fellow Genin, shinobi who knew nothing about the Kyubi, were to see what he carried, then any chance of him being accepted by the peers of his age group would fly out the window.

Anko bit the inside of her cheek before finally giving in. "Fine, but if anything happens we're leaving." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

Naruto's eyes went up to the board to see the next to names. A real smile came on his face as one name jumped out to him. "Alright you show them Hinata," he yelled out before being hit on the head by his instructor.

"Baka," Anko muttered. _Well so much for not showing favoritism._

 _•••••_

Hinata's eyes widened. She brought her hands to her mouth. She could feel herself begin to shake. "No not him," she whispered. "Anybody but him." Staring at her the name _Hyuga Neji_ in neon green letters. All hope of passing faded before a voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Alright you show them Hinata." The words rang in her mind, resonating through her.

 _I-I can do this. If Na-Naruto-kun believes I can do it, th-then so do I._ She repeated that in her head as she walked down the stairs but they did little to comfort her because watching her were the trained eyes of her own cousin, the genius of the clan: Hyuga Neji.


	22. A Family Affair

**Hey guys I am back with another chapter! I don't think I made my deadline but it also wasn't as long as the last wait. So this is the last chapter of the first part of the exams, obviously we'll have the intermission before the next arc, and that is when things are gonna change more. Some key story plots will say and some will go. You'll just have to wait and see which ones. Also the foxes will begin to play a bigger role. It would have been hard to put them in this portion but I got plans so just be patient.**

 **Like always please leave a review and let me know what you think! Tell me how I get better as a writer, what you like or don't like and just thoughts in general. I love feedback.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 22**

Up in the stands, unable to help a person she viewed as a little sister, stood Yuhi Kurenai. Her stomach churned as the timid Hinata stood petrified by the cold gaze of her cousin, Hyuga Neji. The inner struggle between the half that wanted to protect the young heiress and her shinobi training were tearing at her. Had Hinata faced practically anyone else Kurenai wouldn't have been worrying. Yet this went beyond the Chunin Exams, beyond even the politics of the Leaf. This was a symbol of a civil war that had raged just below the surface of one of the most influential clans in Konoha for generations and now Hinata was staring at the embodiment of the hatred felt by many of the lower branch members.

"This isn't good." Kurenai turned to see Kiba with a scowl on his face. "Neji is gonna decimate her, sensei you have to stop this fight!"

Kurenai winced at the Inuzuka's assessment of the match. She took a quick glance at Shino to see his stoic form staring at the two competitors below. His silence spoke more than words would profess, he agreed with his teammate. She opened her mouth to respond before a voice caught her attention. Yelling his heart out for her charge was the blonde haired apprentice to her best friend. She winced at the confidence that rang through his voice, a feeling she couldn't muster up in herself.

"No. No Hinata needs to fight this match," Kurenai professed. "She is stronger than she thinks, stronger than her clan thinks." Her eyes caught the slight movement the encouragement gave her, the slight straightening of her back and deep intake of air.

Kiba looked at his sensei as if she had grown a second head. "Are you insane? Neji won't show any mercy, he may actually kill her."

"Enough Kiba," Kurenai spoke with a soft but stern voice. "This is Hinata's fight not ours. She needs to do this for herself." _And for Neji as well_ , she thought in her head. She had seen that look before, the hatred for a person's mere existence. She knew that look because she had held those thoughts not that long ago about the same person who was encouraging the young Hyuga down below.

"You should give up now." Hinata's eyes shot open, staring at the cold countenance of her cousin, the same pit of fear and doubt creeping into her gut. "You're a failure. You were never meant for the life of a shinobi. You're too soft, too weak to be of any use as a kunoichi. The Main Branch, with all its pampering, has sullied the Hyuga name. Give up."

Hinata felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. Whatever confidence she did have had all but crumbled. Behind Neji she could the figure of her father staring her down with those same cold eyes, the same sneer of disapproval and loathing on full display for the world to see. She felt herself take a step backwards.

Naruto could feel his blood boil over with each insult hurled Hinata's way. Her foot taking a step back finally put him over the edge. "Don't back down Hinata. You aren't weak. You worked too hard to back down now! Show this jerk that hard work pays off. You can do it!"

Naruto gagged as his shirt pulled him back. He felt a hand wrap around his mouth, his sensei hissing in his ear. "Shut up gaki, we are suppose to be impartial in all of this."

Naruto pulled Anko's hand down and shook his head. "But it's all a lie! Hinata isn't weak. She can beat this jackass. People just haven't seen it. People said the same thing about me, but I worked hard and proved everyone wrong and Hinata is gonna do the same thing right now."

His voice rang through the room, the Genin snickered at his words, but the Jonin just kept their eyes trained on the upcoming match below. Kiba could only sit silently and stare at his rival, Akumaru whimpered in his jacket while Shino's buzzed just underneath his skin. Kurenai kept her eyes turned down, unable to look at the blond or his sensei.

Hinata felt her face heat up. Her heart began to beat frantically. _Ca-Can I really beat him?_ She thought to her training, to her drive to prove to everyone that she could make it as a shinobi after Team Eight's scuffle with Naruto. She felt a surge of confidence come to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Her eyes shot open with her Kekkei Genkai activated. _I am not weak, I am not a failure. Naruto-kun is right, I can do this._

"Pre-Prepare yourself Nii-san," Hinata spoke with a quiet confidence. She bent her legs slightly with her right foot forward along with her right hand. Her palms faced her opponent, her eyes looking through Neji and straight into his chakra network.

Neji just gritted his teeth as the veins in his eyes began to bulge, his own Byakugan flaring to life. He got into the same fighting stance. "Then I will not be responsible for what happens next."

"D-Do not be so confident Nii-san," Hinata responded.

Hayate started the match and had to jump back quickly so he wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. Both Hyuga rushed forward before throwing their right arms forward. Neji's struck her shoulder at full arm length. Hinata felt a pain in her arm before brushing off the palm with her left forearm and striking her opponent's chest. Both ninja's began to thrust and parry jabs from each other in a deathly dance.

Neji grunted as another jab connected with the underside of his arm, a tingling feeling shooting up to his shoulder. His anger getting to him with each dodge and connected strike his cousin made.

Up in the stands Team Eight stared on with disbelief. _Is that Hinata?_ Kurenai asked herself as the timid heiress seemed to have vanished and replaced with an aggressive shinobi. Pride erupted in her chest as her charge went strike for strike with her cousin.

Shino had an eyebrow raised. _She's giving him all he can take._

Kiba also was speechless. The calm and timid Hinata was showing her grit and determination and holding her own. He could hear the encouragement of Naruto and just gritted his teeth. _Why does he inspire her so much?_

Hinata was smiling on the inside as she leaned back to avoid a strike, her shoulders going parallel to the ground. She shot back up and threw her palm forward with the most power she had put in a strike yet. Her eyes widened when she felt her upper body fall forward. _N-No I overextended._

A strong palm thrust to her chest caused her heart to beat harder, to continue to pump blood through her veins, stopped her momentum. She coughed and could taste iron in her mouth. This wasn't good; she had felt this before while training with her father. She felt her knees goes week. She went to one knee, putting her hands on the ground to keep her from completely collapsing. Her coughing could be heard ringing through the stadium.

"Over extending yourself? Not only are you weak, but you are also foolish. No matter how hard you fight, no matter how much you lie to yourself, you cannot change who you truly are, what destiny has declared you to be," Neji mocked the downed Hyuga. He turned back to Hayate. "Proctor this match is over."

Anko had to grab her apprentice and put him in a chokehold to keep him quiet. She understood his frustration but this was neither the time nor the place to make a scene. She looked over and got a glimpse of Kurenai looking at them, she caught a look of curiosity but also guilt in her eyes. She would deal with that later. Right now she had to control her gaki.

"Th-This isn't over." Both Hayate and Neji looked to the downed kunoichi as she struggled to her feet, albeit on shaky legs. "You're wrong Nii-san, people can change."

"A person cannot change what destiny has preordained for them," Neji bit back.

Hinata just shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. "You're wrong. You can change your destiny, you just have to believe."

Neji just scoffed. "You will never learn."

Hinata got back into her Gentle Fist stance. "No, it is you who will never learn Nii-san."

Neji activated his Byakugan again and rushed his cousin without hesitation. They began to trade blows, each aiming for critical points but avoiding the other's more dangerous strikes. Neji began to lose his senses, no longer acting on instinct but rather on the anger he felt.

He went to strike Hinata's chest once more. As he pushed his palm forward he could see Hinata spin. The move was unlike anything he had seen in any katas his clan held so dear. It was a rule to avoid showing your back to an opponent when using the Gentle Fist for the simple reason of being unable to strike. He could feel Hint's jacket glide past his fingers as she spun into his guard. Nevi's eyes widened when he noticed her next strike was aimed up towards his neck, a possibly debilitating blow.

He bent his body backwards but wasn't fast enough. He felt the strike just between his hitai-ate and skull. The strike rattled his head causing him to fly back just slightly. He hit the ground and skidded back as the sound of metal clanged on the ground. Neji's hitai-ate was splayed on the ground a few paces from his body.

Hinata was panting with a smile on her face. She had done it, she had fought him and she had won, or so she thought.

Neji groaned as he rolled over and went to hold his head. His eyes shot open when he did not feel the cool metal of his headband. _No my hitai-ate. That means it can be seen._ He snarled as he pushed himself up until he faced his cousin, his anger now on his face visible to all along with the markings on his forehead.

Naruto just looked down with wide eyes. "What type of seal is that?" he asked to no one in particular.

"It is an abomination," Anko muttered. She turned her head to see Naruto looking at her expectantly. "It's used as a way to divide the different parts of the Hyuga clan. Those of the main branch and those of the lower branch families. The mark is placed on the branch members so the main branch can keep them in line. They say it is to protect their bloodline from being stolen but it is merely to keep control of the politics of an outdated clan."

"Why would such a thing exist? Why would the Hokage allow something like that?" Naruto asked with a look of disgust on his face.

"That's because it is considered a clan issue. The Hokage has no say in clan issues."

"But, but that isn't how seals should be used," Naruto commented. "What if this got into hands of enemies? They could use it against Konoha shinobi when they are in the field."

Anko looked at her student while also grabbing her curse mark. "It already has gaki. Orochimaru used the damned seal as part of his curse mark so he can control those underneath him, but still the Hyuga hold on to the traditions of the past."

Naruto looked back to see Neji glaring at his cousin. While he didn't like his attitude he did feel pity for a person who had to wear something like that for their entire life.

"Are you happy now?!" Neji barked. "To show the world your hold on me like the rest of the main branch? Unlike you we have to walk around with our foreheads covered so we don't feel the shame this gives us as the main branch walks around with pride as a Hyuga."

Again Hinata just shook her head. "I-I am not happy about that, but everyone has their burdens Nii-san. We all face things but we have to fight and that's why I won't back down. That's my nindo. That's why I can change and so can you."

Neji had had enough. He screamed as he flew forward, irate and no longer thinking straight. Hinata took a step back and parried a blow to her chest and another before trying to strike back, but she couldn't find her footing. Hinata panicked when she saw chakra swirl in Neji's right hand. Hinata threw her own right hand forward and pushed the strike down but in doing so exposed her right shoulder.

Neji pounced on the opening. With as much chakra as he could muster he hit Hinata on the shoulder, a blast of chakra shooting threw the point of contact. Hinata screamed in pain but her scream was cut short when Neji connected a palm to her chest. Hinata lurched forward before falling backwards, eyes wide as electricity seemed to shoot through her body. Her frame hit the ground with her eyes staring at the ceiling above with a deathly haze. She looked as if she was a statue but blood could be seen leaking out of the sides of her mouth.

Kurenai closed her eyes as gasps rang through the Konoha Genin. _Please be ok Hinata. Please._ She had felt so proud of her student; she had shown the improvements she had taken. The leaps and bounds from her time under her father and the academy 'till now where she could say she went toe-to-toe with the genius of the Hyuga and more than hold her own.

"Hinata," Kiba muttered with a somber tone. Akamaru was whimpering in the boy's jacket. "What was that bastard thinking?" Kiba went to jump over the railing but a firm hand stopped him. "Why are you stopping me Shino? We should kick that guy's ass!"

"It is not our place," Shino answered coldly. "This was a family issue. We have no part in it."

"Like hell we don't! She's our teammate, we have a right to defend her."

"And what will that do? Show her we don't think she can stand up for herself? That she is weak and needs us always babysitting her?" Shino questioned.

Kiba paused for a second before responding. "She knows what we think of her, that we think she is strong."

"But her family doesn't. You know this Kiba. This was her chance to prove to herself, as a kunoichi, that she was not the failure her family says she is."

Kurenai looked from Shino back to her downed charged. _How much more do you have to punish yourself Hinata before you finally see what we see?_

"Damn brutal for a fight between clansmen, Chunin Exams aside," Anko mused. "Still she showed a lot of grit out there. That is something that may have given her extra points in the judges' eyes. Still that Neji kid has got a lot of anger to get rid of if he is ever to make it to Chunin."

"Agreed. The judges won't let that go, it could cloud his decision making too much, same with the Uchiha. Both those Genin are facing uphill battles if they want to be promoted. Especially by that look of disapproval Hokage-sama has on his face is anything to go by," Ibiki mentioned.

Anko looked over to where their leader stood motionless with a look of concentration on his aged facade. The creases made by his furrowed brows and frown aided in showing his age.

Naruto stood frozen in spot as he looked down on the still Hyuga heiress below. His knuckles turned white, his grip on the railing causing the metal to begin creaking under his grip. He could feel a warm chakra begin to turn in his stomach. The feeling seemed to dissipate as Hinata began to move. _Come on and get up Hinata! You can do it._

Hinata groaned before rolling over. She pushed herself onto shaky arms as coughing racked her body. Blood could be seen dotting the ground beneath her. She took her sleeve and wiped the blood off of her lips, the taste of iron still in her mouth. She turned to look at her cousin over her shoulder while he was putting his headband back on. He his back to her and walked his way to return to the stands. Hiashi's image walked away right next to him. How many times had he walked away and she just cried? Cried because she wasn't strong enough? But that was not going to happen today, today they would have to acknowledge her strength. Even if it killed her.

"I-I'm no-not done yet," she whimpered out freezing the brown-haired Hyuga in place. Neji turned his head slightly so only one eye could size her up before he smiled and closed his eyes, scoffing at her attempts to be menacing.

"This fight is over," he stated with finality. "Nearly all of your chakra points have been closed and those still open don't have enough chakra pumping through them to even preform a simple clone let alone another strike. Face it Hinata: you are a failure and you always will be."

"You're wrong," she shouted with all the energy she had. The cry came out as weak and staggered, her breathing making it hard to talk. The short, erratic breaths were leaving her feeling light headed and left her chest burning for air.

With everything she had she pushed herself onto her feet and spun toward her opponent. She took a few fumbling steps, her palm raised up to strike her opponent. Chakra began to envelope her hand. She made it halfway to her target before lurching forward and finally succumbing to the pain that wrecked her frame. Hinata fell, her head connecting to the tiled floor and bouncing. Her body skidded forward before being at the feet of her cousin.

Neji just snarled and turned his back on her downed forward. "Pathetic."

A flick of orange was all Anko had to see. She grabbed the back of her apprentice's shirt and spun, pushing him against the wall. She pinned him to the wall with her forearm in his chest and a kunai at his gut so it was hidden from the group of Genin on the other side of the room. Chocolate eyes met wild red. She steeled herself as those wild, red eyes danced across her face. She stood and looked coldly into them, staying unmoved.

Behind those red eyes the Kyubi was looking around his cage with confusion. His own chakra, his very being, was dancing around him without control. The waves of the dungeon crashed into the walls, growing to the point even the mighty beast hand to brace himself. The giant fox looked around before noticing the seal that kept the door to his prison from opening wide. The seal was sucking in his energy and a constant but slow rate. The monster's eyes widened at the realization.

 ** _"This Kit, this brat, this mere mortal, is pulling on my chakra and there is nothing I can do about it. Is-Is his will that strong?"_** The Kyubi growled before trying to tear the seal. Nothing seemed to work as the seal continued to pull on the chakra. **_"Not even Mito could control my chakra and she created the damn seal herself."_**

Just as suddenly as the storm had started, it stopped. The water receded to its normal level and the seal's pull on the beasts chakra stopped. The Kyubi sighed deeply before sitting on his butt, his tails dancing calmly behind it. It snarled in frustration. **_"Just who, or what, are you Uzumaki Naruto?"_**

The feeling of the kunai's point at his gut and the cold chocolate eyes of his sensei began to bring Naruto back from his emotional frenzy. He gripped Anko's hand, the one holding the kunai, and calmly pushed it aside before she let him go and he fell to the ground with a thud. He looked back up toward Anko, his hair shadowing parts of his eyes.

"You let your emotions get the better of you," Anko growled, her voice low and harsh so it wouldn't carry. "You were about to jump down there and take him on yourself weren't you?"

Naruto sighed before looking down. "It would have been quick," he muttered.

"Dammit gaki that is not how a Chunin is suppose to act," Anko said with disappointment. "Maybe it's a good thing you weren't in these exams. If you fly off the handle just because one of your precious people gets beaten then you won't cut it at the next level."

"Me?! What about him? He was attacking like a crazed animal," Naruto defended himself.

"HE isn't my apprentice, YOU are and I expected more gaki," Anko responded. "Come on we're leaving."

"But Anko-sensei-," Naruto tried to respond but couldn't before Anko cut him off.

"You just pulled on _its_ chakra again Naruto," Anko stated. Naruto eyes widened before going to Ibiki who looked wearily at the Genin. Naruto's vision then swept over to the Hokage who was also looking at him with calculating eyes. Naruto knew those eyes, he had seen them when sparring with the kitsune and Anko: his jiji was eyeing him up, preparing to take him down.

Anko picked Naruto up when she saw the realization of his actions had put the boy in a fear-induced shock, the color had drained from his face, his body slouched in defeat. They had talked about that first mission a lot but more about his tenant. Naruto had made a promise to never pull on the fox's chakra again, to not turn into that beast that he had been during that mission. She knew it wasn't because he thought it was wrong, he had admitted he had done it to protect those he cared about, but it scared him. It scared him imagining himself turning into the very thing people feared.

She put an arm around him before ushering him away from the eyes of Ibiki, the Hokage and the Jonin's that had felt the spike of chakra from the boy. "Come on we'll get some ramen and dango and talk about it," she suggested in a softer voice only meant for him and a select few. "Don't feel bad." She ruffled his hair and pushed him playfully.

Naruto heard the large doors open before him but stopped when Hinata was carted off in front of duo. Her pale visage spiked both anger and shame in him. Anger because of what had happened to her, but shame for letting that anger shroud his judgment. The voices of the civilian population rang through his mind. He winced when he thought that he had been about to prove them right. He wasn't the monster he kept sealed away and he knew that, but he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of thinking they were right.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hummed as various people were making comments about the previous match, the dogged determination of the Hygua heiress and the unbridled anger of the clan's genius. He just nodded along while another Genin kept hold of his thoughts. _That was the Kyubi's chakra, but it was . . . different._


	23. Hedging Your Bets

**Hey guys I am back with another chapter! So this one was more fun to write for me than the last few. I am gonna start to break off more and more from canon but still use bits and pieces here and there. This one was more of a filler although I do introduce a decently important OC. A fairly slow chapter but I hope you like it!**

 **As always please tell me what you think of this chapter! Leave a review telling me your thoughts and specifically how you think the dialogue went. That is always a tough spot for me I feel like and am trying to improve on it. Give me feedback, it is always nice.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 23**

Naruto slashed with a kunai he held in his right hand. The two his opponent held caught the kunai. Naruto smirked before he took his left hand, which held a reversed-gripped kunai, and spun. His kunai was aimed right at his opponent's neck. He snarled when the clang of metal resonated in his ears. His spin ended just in time to block a kunai strike.

He growled when he saw his opponent smile, a smile that told him he was being toyed with. Naruto twirled the kunai that was stuck until he could run the kunai down toward his opponent's hand while also keeping his wrist safe. His opponent dropped the kunai and jumped back but Naruto pounced. The kunai was aimed at his opponent's neck, he was inside the guard of his opponent, he had won. _Finally got you._ He thought in triumph.

His feeling of triumph turned into horror as he felt his feet being swept out from under him. He had been so busy focusing on his opponent's hands and upper body he had ignored the base, where fighting started.

He hit ground with a hard thud before the wind was knocked out of him when his opponent's knee found its way onto his chest. He was about move his head up when he felt the sharp edge of metal against his jugular.

"Fuck," he muttered in frustration. He closed his eyes and rested his head back on the ground. He frowned when he heard the chuckling of his opponent.

"Nice try gaki," Anko teased the downed Genin. "You almost had me there."

"No I didn't. You were playing with me, you gave me an opening so I would drop my guard and beat me," he pointed out.

Anko shrugged. She got off of her apprentice and offered him her hand. "You still showed a lot of improvement. Hell, I gotta go get a new trench coat after this." Anko pointed a few fingers through one of the various holes found in her apparel. "Damn and I really liked this coat too."

Naruto just grunted and retrieved his two kunai that had gone flying during their little scuffle. He felt frustrated. He had been given a scroll on close-quarter combat by Asuma a while back and been working his butt off to get better, especially since seeing the carnage that was the preliminary rounds. While his taijutsu was good he had to admit it wasn't on par with is either Lee or Neji, but that didn't mean he could just abandon close quarter combat. So he renewed his studies in the arts with vigor.

"You have to start seeing everything gaki," Anko added as she picked up her own kunai she had dropped during their spar. "Thought you would have learned that by now. Tunnel vision, focusing on only the main objective or opponent, is one of the worst things a ninja can do. You missed my feet because you were too focused on the kill, would have ended up dying yourself if this were the real deal."

Naruto just nodded and fell on his butt, resting his back on the wall. He grab his shoulder and began to move it, trying to loosen up his sore muscles. He and Anko had begun earlier than normal and while they had been at it for hours it was only noon if the clock on the wall was right. Naruto's vision perused the room, which was still torn up after the preliminary rounds. Naruto just sighed again and rested his head on the back wall.

Anko parked herself next to him and surveyed the landscape. "So any plans for the rest of the day?" she questioned her young apprentice. She had a few interrogations and meetings that were over Naruto's head at the moment, couple that with the fact the rest of the Jonin that normally helped teach Naruto were busy with their own students, left her gaki to his own devices. She had to admit that had potential to be disastrous.

Naruto just shrugged. "Training with seals today. Something not so physically exhausting after this."

"Not gonna visit that Hyuga girl? Kurenai says she is in stable condition now." Naruto winced at the prospect. That would mean he'd have to go to the hospital, not his favorite place in the world by any stretch of the imagination. "Come on gaki the hospital isn't that bad."

"It smells weird," Naruto muttered.

"Yeah well you need to take a break. You've been running yourself ragged after the exams. It's been three days gaki. Take a break, go see her and just relax with a friend."

Naruto stared intently at the tiles in front of him as he thought about his response. He had nearly forgotten about Hinata, more accurately he hadn't the desire to remember that fight and how he couldn't help his friend. He felt useless, a feeling he refused to allow himself to duplicate ever again so he did like he always did: run straight into training head first without a second thought.

"Ok," he finally agreed. "I'll go see her."

"What are you gonna bring her?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at his sensei with a confused look on his face. He tilted his head a bit. "Why would I bring her something?"

Anko just groaned and pulled at her ponytail. Teaching this kid ninja skills was turning out to be the easy part of her job. Hell the kid lacked so many social skills one would think the blond had been raised by wolves, well in his case foxes.

"Kami gaki you are hopeless." She sighed before continuing. "You take things to people in the hospital as a way to cheer them up, you know get them thinking about something other than the fact they are in a place that smells of disinfectant and gloominess. You know something like that plush toy you got during our mission, flowers and food."

Naruto's stomach grumbled a bit. He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well maybe I can bring her some ramen! Ow what was that for?" Naruto shouted as he rubbed his head where Anko had hit him.

"Ramen doesn't scream 'Get better soon!' for everyone maggot."

"Well then what do I get for her?" Naruto asked.

"Get her favorite food. That will brighten her day," Anko suggested before she saw the blank look on the jinchuriki's face. "You don't know her favorite food do you? Dammit gaki!"

"Well I never thought of asking her!" Naruto defended himself. He thought about is some more before realizing something. "Hey I could ask Kiba or Shino! I bet they'd know."

"The might be hope for you yet gaki," Anko chuckled. "Come on we got get out of here. The tigers have been getting a little more courageous lately. Let's go when they are taking their afternoon nap."

•••••

Naruto wandered around the marketplace of Konoha feeling truly uncomfortable. He had gotten some ramen from his favorite food stand and now he was searching for Team Eight and their sensei. He had heard from Anko the group usually ate a late lunch so he ate his own quickly and went searching.

He felt the eyes of the shopkeepers and patrons on him, a few whispered words could be heard and scowls seen. He was absolutely uncomfortable until he saw the figure of Yuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma. He smiled at finding a pair of friendly figures.

"Hey Asuma-sensei!" Asuma head turned and smiled when he saw Naruto run up to the pair.

"How's it going Naruto?" Asuma asked.

"It's going good! Those scrolls really helped and Anko-sensei has been making sure they are done right. Although she seems to be enjoying it more than she should," he muttered the last bit while he rubbed his neck, remembering all the times he had had a kunai pressed against his skin the past few days.

"Yeah, she always did like sharp things," Asuma mentioned. He rubbed his throat with an awkward chuckle. "Is there anything I can help you with Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head. "No but I could use your help Kurenai-san!"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at that statement. "With what?" she asked curiously.

Naruto's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he looked down. "Well, um ya see I want to go visit Hinata-chan and Anko-sensei told me you bring people that are in the hospital things like their favorite food and well I was wondering if you knew Hinata's favorite food."

Asuma smirked at the usually rambunctious Naruto looking more like the awkward and timid Hyuga heiress. Kurenai giggled into her hand before nodding her head. "I do Naruto. Hinata's favorite food is the cinnamon rolls from Ase ya Okashi. She especially likes the cinnamon rolls with extra icing."

She was expecting a smile from the young Genin but frowned when Naruto winced and looked sadly around. Asuma also noticed the look but he knew why, the boy had been a subject brought up at family dinner, the few he went to anymore. He went to stop Kurenai but was too late. "Is something wrong Naruto?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to get her those."

"Why not? They aren't that expensive," Kurenai sad nonchalantly.

"Well price doesn't matter if the bastard won't let me buy anything," Naruto muttered.

Kurenai closed her eyes and berated herself. _Of course. That place is civilian owned, Naruto has probably never even eaten anything from there let alone bought anything._ She thought for a bit before an idea came to her mind.

"Say Naruto, would you have the money for them by any chance?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Naruto showed a dazzling smile. He knew where this was going. "Yep right here?" he shouted as he tossed the Jonin Gama-chan.

Kurenai looked curiously at the childish, green wallet. "Um ok I will be back in a bit."

Asuma and Naruto waited patiently and talked a bit about the exams, the scroll Asuma had given him and how he was preparing Shikamaru for his upcoming match with the kunoichi from Suna. The matches had been interesting, according to Asuma, after Naruto had left. Ino and Sakura's match had ended in a double knockout, Kiba had lost to the other male sand sibling who hadn't fought yet, Shino had beaten Sai and Shikamaru had taken care of the final Oto-nin that was left in the competition.

The pair stopped when Kurenai walked up with a white box. "Here you go Naruto," Kurenai said with a smile. "Extra icing just like Hinata likes them, even got you a discount."

"Really? Thanks a lot! No wonder Hinata-chan likes you so much!" Naruto shouted before darting off toward the hospital.

"She's in room 213!" she called out to racing Genin with Asuma laughing right behind her.

•••••

"Room 207, room 208," Naruto rattled off the room numbers as he walked through the halls of the hospital. He oddly felt more comfortable at the hospital than he expected to. This was probably because he was in the shinobi portion of the facility that he found to be more welcoming to him when he had his hitai-ate on.

He smiled when he got to Hinata's room and noticed the door was opened. _Good that means she can have visitors._ He walked in with the white box of treats in hand and the small plush fox he had won nearly a month ago sitting on top.

He walked into the room and his smile faded. Lying in the bed in the middle of the room was Hinata. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically as she slept peacefully. The heart monitor added to the calm atmosphere in the room. The rays of the noonday sun danced through the window and shown on her pale face. Some of the color had returned to her face but Naruto could tell the difference. Her usually vibrant lavender hair seemed to have a duller hue to it today.

Still, she was alive and getting better. Naruto walked over to the bedside table. Seeing a jar of colorful flowers with a card in them gave him an idea. He opened a scroll that was connected to his hip and, as quietly as he could, unsealed a piece of paper and pen. He wrote a note and put it under the orange, plushy fox that was still sitting on the top of the white pastry box. He nodded his head before feeling a pair of eyes on him.

He looked up and went pale when his vision connected with the pupil-less, white eyes of a Hyuga. "You should not be here while she is resting," the Hyuga member hissed as quietly as she could. "Leave, now."

Naruto just nodded sadly and started to walk out of the room when he noticed the odd physical attributes of the Hyuga. She was tall, taller than Anko by a head at least, with a lithe build that was hidden by the scrubs she wore. She had a grace to her that seemed to befit a Hyuga, but what really got his attention was the dark green hair that was tied in a ponytail, the green of her hair was dark enough that it blended in to the blue of the hitai-ate she had around her forehead.

"You must be a med-nin," Naruto attempted to start a conversation with the cold individual. He got a curt nod from the med-nin.

"How observant," the Hyuga said with disdain evident in her voice.

"Your Byakugan must give you a huge advantage. I mean you can see injuries others can't," Naruto pointed out. "Your clan must be proud of you."

There was a slight scoff that caught the boy's attention. They were now outside of Hinata's room in the empty hallway. It was quiet with a few nurses going to and from patients' rooms. The green-haired Hyuga held a sneer on her face.

"A medic is nothing but an embarrassment to the elders and majority of the clan," she explained. "As Hyuga we are expected to be in the front line, as a force to be seen either in the field of battle or the tables of diplomacy. Not mulling around the poorly lit halls of a hospital doing a job that holds no praise in a shinobi culture."

"Then why do you do it?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face.

The lithe Hyuga stopped in her tracks and sighed. It had been a long shift that had started in the darkness of night. She was tired and frustrated; in her frustration she had let her tongue say too much. She had always been warned that her crass tongue would get in her trouble one day. She looked to the young blond, her facial expressions softening but still looked impartial to the young blond.

"An outsider cannot understand why we do the things we do," she responded.

"You mean the branch members?"

Again this young child shocked her. How much did know? If he knew the heiress then he could possibly know some of the inner politics of the clan. She had been careless, but she was this far she might as well continue.

"Yes," she answered with a slight nod.

"You do it as your own way to protest don't you?" She looked at him with a hard eye. Was he trying to pry into her clan for some personal advantage or some nefarious plan? Naruto just raised his hands in the air. "Hey I only ask because I know how it is. I know how it is to be looked down on as something less, so you fight back. But you can't fight back in ways that will prove them right, that you are who they say you are. I get that, I do."

"You speak with wisdom beyond your years," she finally acknowledge what he said was true. She was impressed. Of course she had heard of the village nuisance, hell she was one of the many med-nin who had looked over the child when he came in unconscious with chakra exhaustion or minor injuries by those mysterious ANBU.

She had held disdain for the young boy, just like everyone else. But he was slowly changing that perception. While he was still young and stubborn with far too much energy, after all she had seen how his last visit ended with her associate complaining about him and the pervert he was with. Still there was more compassion and empathy in his eyes than she had been expecting and thoughtfulness that was refreshing in her line of work.

Naruto just rubbed the back of his head as he chose his next words carefully. "Haven't heard _that_ often," he said with a chuckle. He saw her nod with a small smile. She turned to leave before Naruto spoke. "Can I ask you a question?" he inquired in a panic.

The Hyuga turned her head to the young shinobi. "What is it?" she responded with curiosity.

"Well I . . . I was wondering if you could tell me what's the deal with that Neji guy and Hinata-chan," Naruto explained her, his voice going quiet with every word. He looked up to see a slight harshness in her eyes before they faded and was left with a shimmering thoughtfulness and slight dejection.

The woman sighed before looking around and gesturing for him to follow her. She grabbed a clipboard by the nurse's station to make it look like she was busy as they continued on. She flipped a few sheets and made a few marks, a scribble here and there.

"So you were there huh?" she asked. She didn't see the nod of his head but the silence told her that he knew. She could see the slight flash of anger in his eyes though he tried to mask it well.

"I cannot say that his feelings aren't shared within the branch family. For some of us, being a member means serving the main branch as servants, usually those that are civilians, and those that are shinobi are used a guards for the main branch and clan compound." She continued into a room that held a sleeping patient. She looked over his charts as she talked.

"For some that is the extent. Other than that they live normal lives, still the belittlement turns to hatred but it is a slow burn. A few, like Neji-san . . . well their hatred is more like a wild fire, one that has a distinct beginning."

"What was yours?" Naruto asked.

Again the Hyuga sighed as she put her patient's charts down and exited the room. "I had an older brother, a few years older than myself. He was everything you could ask for in an older brother. He was harsh when he needed to be, but patient and kind when he reprimanded me. He was my best friend." The shinobi kept her eyes forward as she continued her story.

"He was proud of me, but most of all he was proud to serve his village, not his clan, not his parents or the elders. He wore his hitai-ate, not to hide his seal but as a symbol for what he stood for, what he felt this village stood for. He was a Chunin, many said he would be promoted soon to Jonin, after all he had gone on many high ranking missions and always got great reviews from his authorities. It was on one of these missions that something happened." There was a pause as she sighed with a look of sadness resting in her eyes. "We still don't know what happened. All we were told is that he died protecting his teammates. They tried to get him medical help but he didn't make it.

"At the same time an elder of the clan, a high ranking member of the main branch, died. The clan mourned his death for a week while my brother seemed to be tossed aside, his sacrifice ignored by his very clansmen. He was buried without so much as a second thought, no memorial, and no ceremony while the elder had a lavish procession and the whole clan dressed in black. I hated him for it. Yes he was an old man, but he had been sick for years, it came as no surprise. But my brother was fighting for our village and died for what he felt was right and they didn't even acknowledge him. It was then I realized that I would never be seen as a person of value to them even though they were my own blood so I decided to rebel and came here. The med-nins who tried to save his life were the only people who seemed to care about him and his passing. So I joined their ranks knowing the clan would discourage it. It was my way for repaying them for their kindness to my brother and a sort of revenge for the clan turning their back on their own kin."

Naruto looked down as he thought about all this information. It must have hurt, to have family but still feel isolated and alone. That wasn't right, how could someone do that to his or her own family?

"I don't all the facts about Neji-san's situation. I was only 10 at the time and the topic is taboo, but from what I can glean, his dad was asked by the elders to die in his brother's place for an action Hiashi, the clan head, had committed against another hidden village," she sat down on a bench that was in the hall of hospital with windows behind her. "He hates the main branch because of that and the heiress specifically even though she is about the only one who treats the lower branch members like actual people, but he can't see that."

"I-I'm sorry," Naruto muttered.

The Hyuga just nodded and looked out the window. "It's hard sometimes. I will be the first to admit that I hate to return to the compound, which is why I take so many shifts here at the hospital. It's a way to escape those memories," she explained.

"It's your way to be free," Naruto realized.

She nodded with a soft smile on her lips. "If I were to guess, I would say it was why my brother was so proud to be a shinobi of the Leaf. When he wore that hitai-ate he was not a member of the Hyuga, he was a Leaf-nin with his own family that he got to choose. It is the same feeling I have here, this has become my home, my family is the doctors and nurses I work side by side with and the patients that are under my care. Neji-san . . . Neji-san doesn't have anything like that."

Naruto looked out the window too as his thoughts danced around the Hyuga, his friend that lay in the room just down the hall, and her cousin that put her there. He couldn't understand that type of anger, or that reasoning for his feelings. He tried to put himself in the older teen's shoes, but he could still not fathom the deep seeded hatred the Hyuga member spoke of. He knew nothing of clans or how they worked, but when did a lack of information ever stop him?

"I'll change the Hyuga," Naruto state quietly as he looked out the window.

The woman looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "How? You aren't a member of our clan."

Naruto turned to her with a thousand-watt smile that stretched from ear to ear. "That's easy: I'll fix them when I become Hokage."

"It isn't that simple," she retorted.

"I know it won't be easy, nothing ever is. I want to be Hokage because I want to protect people and this village. How can I do that if clans are tearing themselves apart? The Hyuga are a part of my family too, like the Nara, the Aburame and even the Uchiha. They are all precious to me." Naruto looked out at the window again with a smile that promised a better future. His eyes fell upon the stone faces of the Hokage, he trained his eyes on the Shodaime. "Hashirama-sama created this village with a dream that people would begin to see each other as family. That hasn't happened if clans hate their own kin. I believe in the Shodaime's dream of peace and I will make it happen."

She looked on with wonder at the boy. He stood there resolute, his back straight, head up and fists clenched. His smile seemed to spark something in her chest. Hope began to creep into her thoughts, a hope of a better future for her clan, for her village. She could see her brother behind him, that same smile of confidence on his face. She nodded her head at him.

"You are truly unique Uzumaki Naruto," she said with a warmth that wasn't there before. "You remind me a lot of my brother. He would feel relieved to know such a man is protecting his village."

Naruto smiled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hey thanks I appreciate that . . ." he opened his eyes and looked at the young woman in front of him "Um I'm sorry I didn't catch your name earlier."

She stood up and offered her hand to the boy. Naruto took with a firm hand and shook it. "Midori. Hyuga Midori."

"Pleasure to meet you Midori-chan," Naruto said with that a smile still on his face.

"The pleasure is all mine Uzumaki-san," she answered back before letting go of his hand and walking back to the nurse's station. "I'm sorry but it is time for me to get back to work. I'll be sure to let the nurses know that you have an opened invitation to visit Hinata-sama any time."

"Hey thanks!" Naruto said with excitement.

"Don't mention it," she said with her back still turned. She lifted her hand and waved as she turned the corner of the hallway and vanished from his sight, a smile on her face.

•••••

Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha with a curious look on his face. On an outer street, near the gate, in the middle of a normally quiet part of town, now resided a large market. Tents of varying size and colors dotted each side of the street, their makeshift structures marking what seemed to be different businesses. People dashed from stand to stand, children stood and stared at the different exotic looking treats, and haggling could be heard from what seemed to be every stand.

Naruto saw a stand that was relatively empty and walked in. His eyebrows shot up when he entered. His senses were blasted with different scents and aromas that mixed together in a near sickening combination for the blond.

"Oh man," Naruto muttered when he noticed the burning incense of different assortments that were on the makeshift shelves of the vendor. He coughed a bit before noticing an older woman behind a table with a sheet over it, poorly concealing the boxes underneath. "Um excuse me miss?" Naruto choked out.

The older woman's eyes shot up from her book. When her eyes fell on the young teen a smile appeared accompanied by a twinkle her eyes. "While hello young man, how I can help you?" she chirped happily.

"Um . . . well for starters why does it smell so . . . interesting in here," Naruto tried to stay polite as his senses were continually assaulted.

The older laughed at his reaction. "That means the incense is working! This is incense that is used in Oni no Kuni. We have many shrines and use different incense for our various rituals. Some are to ward off powerful demons, heal sickness, increase fertility and others simply smell good," she explained as she moved from one shelf to another and pointed at the various products she brought.

 _Maybe I can use some of this stuff next time that furball decides to be an ass,_ Naruto thought with a slight chuckle. He had to stifle his laughter when he heard an indignant grunt from his captive followed by a slight growl.

"Is there anything that you are specifically looking for?" the vendor asked him with a smile.

"Um well not really," Naruto thought as he scratched his cheek.

"Oh come now, come now. Surely there must be something that you are interested in." The lady grabbed his arm and ushered him to one of the shelves on the opposite side of her small establishment. She gestured to one of the less intense odors. "This one would be perfect for appeasing your ancestors. The soothing odor helps bring them peace and allows for our many priestess to commune with their long deceased relatives for advice. Being in a hidden village, I can many possibilities how this could help you grow. Why ancestors would love to pass their secrets on to the next generation."

Naruto felt a little uncomfortable. This woman must not have had a lot of customers if she was peddling her merchandise so hard to any person that would come into her shop. "I-I don't have any ancestors. I'm an orphan," Naruto responded back.

The older woman's eyes widened at the boy in front of her before they turned gentle. "I am very sorry to hear that my boy. Must have been a tough way to grow up."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and looked at his feet with an awkward smile on his face. "Wasn't the worst. I have a few friends and things are getting better now that I am an awesome shinobi!"

The older woman smiled and nodded, the sale seemed to be less important now. She had seen a lot of things during her time in Oni no Kuni. Granted it she was never a priestess herself, she did work along side them in the orphanages to care for the young ones without any parents in their lives. It was one of the reasons she traveled and sold her incense. She used the money to help fund the various needs of the orphanages at the different shrines and monasteries of her country.

"I'm sure you are young man," she said sweetly. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Naruto looked up and blinked at her before smiling. "Yeah, I was curious about what all this is," he motioned to the tent and the others tents around them while he spoke.

"Well this is the area the Hokage gave to those merchants that come for the Chunin Exams," she explained. "We come to sell our goods the month leading up to the finals because many wealthy and influential people from different lands come to watch. We hope to persuade them to come our way so we can sell goods and promote our own country's goods. Consider it our own exams," she explained with a smile.

Naruto nodded. That made sense he supposed. He peered out of the tent and saw the market seemed to stretch down the street as far as the eye could see and broke off into the various streets that crossed it. He whistled as he took in the sight.

"Impressive isn't it?" the older woman mused from behind him as she too stuck her head out of the tent to examine the madness.

"Yeah," Naruto mumbled. He looked back to the older woman. "Thanks for explaining that to me ma'am, but I got to get going."

The older smiled and nodded. "If you must, but you be sure to come back and purchase something. I haven't had many customers. Okay?"

"Sounds good," Naruto agreed before he exited the tent.

Naruto moved through the crowd taking in the sights and sounds. He was actually enjoying himself. With everyone's eyes going from one booth and vendor to another, he seemed to slip their notice. It also felt good to not be booted out of the booths by the owners and actually be welcomed. He had a stick of dango in one hand and was munching on it with delight. It had a different taste to it that he enjoyed, he laughed to himself as he thought about his sensei, she was rubbing off on him in more ways than one he supposed.

"You're a fucking cheat!" Naruto's head snapped to an area by an alleyway before a man went flying into the middle of the street. The man, dressed in a simple kimono, picked himself up and walked back with a growl. "I want my money back. You tricked me! That ball wasn't in that cup. I've been watching you the entire time and you have been hiding the ball in your sleeves and then slip another ball into a different cup each time."

Naruto walked until he could see the owner of the shop, if you could call it that. There, sitting on a dull blue carpet with a small table in front of him, was a man dressed in a white haori that was tied neatly with a black sash around his waste. Underneath was a black shirt as well that matched his black pants. Off to the side was a ronin straw hat resting precariously next to a slightly burning cigarette. A peppering of grey mixed with his black hair that was kept in a messy cut that left it just above his eyes. The man turned a playful glance at his younger patron, his brown eyes showing a glint that put Naruto on edge.

"How can I possibly have cheated you when my sleeves are rolled up so high?" he questioned before motioning to his sleeves that were well past his elbows. Naruto's eyebrows shot up when he saw scorch marks on the man's right hand.

"I know a cheat when I see one," the disgruntled man shouted.

The vendor raised his hands up as to appease the younger man. "Alright calm down, calm down. There is no need to make a scene. How about I give you a chance to win it back huh?"

The man in questioned glared at him, seemingly unaware of the crowd that gathered around the entrance to the alleyway. "What do you have in mind?"

The vendor's face broke out in a Cheshire grin. "We'll switch roles. If you win you get your money back and I will even double it, but if I win you pay double. I'll even close my eyes."

 _What is he thinking?_ Naruto looked at the man with his jaw hanging open, his dango seemingly forgotten.

The patron scoffed before sitting down on the pillow provided for the gamblers and set a stack of ryo on the small surface between them. "You're on you old coot."

"Well then, whenever you're ready," the vendor responded as he closed his eyes.

Naruto watched with curiosity as the patron began to move the three cups that were in front of him at random. This continued until he saw the cup with the ball move back in a fast motion. The man lifted the back edge, the edge closest to him, up and the ball flew out into the man's hand. It was a crafty slight of hand and Naruto nearly shouted before he felt a hand around his mouth. He struggled out of it before looking up and seeing two bigger guys standing behind him with a sneer. Naruto gave them a glare before returning his eyes to the crooked game going on.

"Alright you can open your eyes now," the patron said with a sneer.

The vendor's eyes opened before his eyes began to scan the cups. He put his hand on his chin as he studied the objects before him. His finger went to the cup that had originally held the ball before pausing. Naruto's studied his hand carefully when he finally pointed at a different cup. When he touched it Naruto noticed something off about the action.

 _He just used chakra! What is he up to?_ Naruto looked back up to the man who looked right at him and winked before going back to the patron.

"Is that your final choice?" the patron mocked. The man nodded slowly. "Ha it seems you lose this round old man," he shouted. He took the cup off the table to show what was underneath only to hear a gasp from Naruto. The man looked back down to see a ball sitting where the cup had been. "What? But how?"

"It seems that today just isn't your lucky day huh buddy?" the vendor poked fun at the man. He shifted to his left as the man before him lunged at him. The man missed before the vendor grabbed his forearm and shirt. In one fluid motion he continued to spin, but stood and threw the man at his two companions. Naruto ducked quickly. He turned when heard a groan to see the three men sprawled out in the middle of street with the crowd staring on.

The man chuckled before sitting back down and leaning back on his arms. "Some people have no sense of manners aye kid?" His voice was full of mirth.

Naruto picked up the cup and peered briefly enough to see something strange. _A seal? So that is how he did it!_ He looked back up when he noticed the man talking to him. "Huh? What did you say?"

The man chuckled again and motioned to the cup. "I said I need my tools or else I can't stay open."

Naruto put the cup down before sitting down himself. "Can I play a game?"

The man looked at Naruto with shock before waving his hand in the air with a chuckle. "Hasn't anyone told you that gambling isn't for kids?"

"But I'm not a kid," Naruto stated with a huff. He pointed to his hitai-ate. "As soon as I got this I became an adult as far as Konoha is concerned." He felt something hit is hitai-ate. He looked into his lap and noticed a white dice with black pits sitting in his lap. He picked it up before looking at the man.

"Just because you're a shinobi kid, doesn't mean you're an adult," he man continued to brush him off. "Now leave, your wasting time that could be spent on other customers."

The man turned to pick up his barely lit cigarette before hearing something slap his table. He turned to see a thousand ryo staring back at him. He eyes shot up to see a vibrant blue gaze staring him down.

Naruto smirked when he knew he had him on the line. "Got your attention now?" He smiled when the man, after staring long and hard at the currency in front of him, shrugged and grabbed the burning piece of tobacco.

"Your loss kid," he said. The man put the ball back into the cup and began to move the cups around. Naruto's eyes followed the cups. He inwardly smirked when he noticed the slight burst of chakra the man used when he made the switch. Naruto had to give it to him, it was a good con. The man used a seal on the inside of his cups, probably a storage seal if Naruto had a guess, that each held a ball. Whenever he'd add just a bit off chakra then the seal would either suck in the ball or release it. Only a trained eye could pick it up, Naruto had to guess that was why he was against him going. A ninja could pick it up eventually but a civilian had no shot.

"Okay kid, you know the drill, where is the ball," the man asked with a bored expression.

"That is easy," Naruto said with a smirk. "It's in this one." He grabbed the cup he knew didn't have the ball but sent a bit of chakra into the seal he knew was on the inside of the cup. When he pulled it up his smile grew even brighter. There, sitting for the world to see, was a red ball.

The cigarette fell out of the vendor's mouth before his eyes went to Naruto. Naruto had a cheeky smile on his face before giving the man a sly wink. The man just chuckled before reaching into is haori and produced a thousand ryo. He handed Naruto his winnings. Naruto grabbed his winnings and was about to get up when he was stopped.

"Hey kid what's your name?" the vendor question. Naruto just raised an eyebrow at the man. "The name's Kashiwagi Satomi. Just want to know the name of kid that bested me today."

Naruto smiled. "Uzumaki Naruto. Remember that name old man, you'll hear it a lot one day." Naruto turned and left with a smile on his face, imagining what to do with his winnings.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, a pair of eyes followed him. _An Uzumaki huh? Interesting, very interesting._ Satomi thought with a smirk on his face as he saw the boy vanish into the crowd.


	24. Secrets Hidden in Scrolls

**Hey guys I'm back! Definitely late with this chapter and have been sitting on it for a week maybe two at least. It was interesting to write, pretty fun and setting up for more in the future. I think a lot of people will like it while a few will be off-put by a few things. One thing I wanted to mention is the Hyuga as a sort of response to a review. I have a plan for the Hyuga Clan as a whole and it may seem like I bash them a lot, definitely took a few jabs at them this chapter, but I'm not going to shit on them the entire story. I have a plan and it's one I think people will enjoy thoroughly though it will very, very many chapters in the future.**

 **I want to take the time to also give a shout out to those who have reviewed this fic, those who have made it one of their favorites or thought well enough of it to add it to their follow list. I really appreciate the support from the community and my readers and I hope that I continue to bring quality work that I hopefully will get a reputation for. You guys make this fun.**

 **With that said, please feel free to review this chapter and others! Tell me what you think, what you liked, disliked, ways that I can improve upon. I love feedback!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 24**

The soft rays hit her eyes as they fluttered open to the tiles of a white ceiling. Hinata groaned slightly as she sat up, the burning pain in her chest was still there but the sensation had died down the past few days. Her body protested the movements before she pressed a button on the side of the bed. The slow movement of the bed followed the sound of a motor puttering to life into an upright position where she could be more comfortable.

She sat back before turning her head to the window of her room. The sun was still high in the sky but was beginning its descent. Her eyes moved to the flowers that Team Eight had given her yesterday, Kiba especially enthusiastic about the gift. Her eyebrows rose when something caught her attention.

Sitting there was a plush fox on top of a very familiar box. She went to grab it but gasped when pain shot through her body. She coughed and moved back to siting in bed, trying to soothe the pain in her chest.

"You shouldn't be sitting up right now Hinata-sama." Hinata's eyes shot up to see Hyuga Midori looking at her with a small smile. "Your body's muscles are still repairing tears and strains they endured. Rotating and overall use of your core and chest muscles needs to be limitied."

"Go-gomen Midori-san," Hinata said with a slight bow of her head, as much as her body would let her. "Um I was just curious."

"About your little gift?" the Hyuga questioned. She got a tentative nod from the heiress who refused to look her in the eyes. She walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed the gift before setting them down on her patient's lap. "You can thank Uzumaki Naruto for these," she said off-handily.

Hinata's hand froze inches away from the fox. Her eyes widened at the med-nin's words. "Di-Did Naruto-kun re-really give this to me?" She looked at the doctor with a hopeful look.

Midori nodded her head. She grabbed Hinata's charts and looked through the information before going to the various machines to check her patient's vitals. "Mhmm came a couple of hours ago when you were sleeping. He seemed to be disappointed that you were not awake." She noticed the look of dejection the clan heiress gave at the explanation. "Although I wouldn't be too sad. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't come over later tonight or tomorrow."

"Th-That would be nice," Hinata mumbled. Her hands were fiddling with the plush fox that was staring up at her. She swore it had a smirk on its muzzle. The toy was soft and it seemed to give off warmth that seemed almost unnatural. Hinata decided it had absorbed some of Naruto's own warmth and energy.

Her eyes then moved to the folded paper on top of the box. She grabbed in gingerly and opened it. She felt her heartbeat begin to skyrocket and her face blooming into a full-blown blush. _Hi-His handwriting is neater than I-I remember._ She thought as she read his note.

 _Hey Hinata-chan! I hope you're feeling better. I know how much being stuck in a hospital sucks, but I was told that people get better when people who care about them bring them things they like. I'm sorry for not coming when you were awake, but maybe I can stop by another time and we can talk and I can bring you not-disgusting-hospital-food. I hope you like these; I was told they were your favorite. Get better soon!_

 _Uzumaki Naruto_

Hinata's eyes flew through the message, then again, and again, and again, before stopping at a few chose words. _For those they care about? N-Naruto-kun cares about me?_ She felt herself begin to panic, her breathing beginning to come out in short and choppy breaths. She jumped slightly when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Midori questioned with an intense look in her eyes. Hinata took a deep breath before nodding her head. Midori looked at her then back to see Hinata's heart rate and vitals before nodding her head. "Must have been a minor spike, that can happen post-surgery. I will make sure the nurses keep an extra eye on you tonight." She looked back to see Hinata, blush still on her cheeks, staring at the piece of paper. "What did he say?"

Hinata moved her eyes to the piece of paper. She folded it back up and began to play with the edges of the paper. "H-He told me to get better and that he might stop by later. He said that these should help," she mentioned before taking and opening up the box. Her face broke into a bright smile. Staring up at her were four delicious looking cinnamon rolls, the icing dripping down the sides and coating the bottom of the box.

Midori looked over the box top before shaking her head. "I'm sorry Hinata-sama but you aren't allowed to eat something like this yet. It is not the best thing with your condition right now." She looked down to see a heartbroken look on the pale Hyuga's face. She sighed before coming up with an idea. "Fine how about half of one with dinner and maybe for a snack later tonight. The rest can be spread out over the next few days until you get waved for a wider diet."

"Arigato Midori-san!" Hinata chirped. She looked down to the plush fox next to her side, then the note still folded next to the box and finally to the cinnamon rolls. She felt her heart swell as blue eyes and a whiskered-smile flashed into her imagination. _I will have to thank Naruto-kun for this. M-Maybe I can take him out to lunch once I get out._ She felt her face heat up again at the thought of another lunch with the excitable Genin.

•••••

The number one hyper-active-knuckleheaded-ninja of Konoha was currently doodling notes in a book before he was shook from his thoughts by a yip from his sensei.

"Huh? What was that Suzuki-sensei?" Naruto asked in a confused and slightly dazed state. Naruto begrudgingly admitted that today's lesson had sounded more fun than it was turning out to be. He loved making seals, but he found the more theoretical Suzuki got the more boring it was for him, which always ended up with him spacing out, doodling, falling asleep or a combination of the three.

Suzuki sighed. The robust kitsune sat back on his haunches, his tail seemingly lying disappointingly behind him. "Naruto please explain what the ignition text of a basic explosive seal needs to overlapped with."

Naruto looked at him with an odd expression before shrugging. "The fuel cell of the seal Suzuki-sensei."

"Incorrect Naruto, again," Suzuki looked at his student with disappointment. "Ishiri would you care to take a crack at it?"

Ishiri nodded before looking in his notes. "The ignition script of the seal can be designed to either be overlaid onto the fuel script of the seal or can be connected to an intermediate seal, one that more properly distributes the chakra through the fuel portion of the seal," Ishiri explained.

"And which way is preferred?"

"The second of the two," Ishiri answered before expounding on his response. "The first has the potential to not properly ignite the entire seal making the seal either not explode, under explode or, in severe cases, cause a larger explosion than intended. All options could potentially be fatal in a fight when a specific response is required or expected. The second option distributes the power evenly making for a more consistent blast each time."

"Well at least one person is paying attention," Suzuki muttered before looking back at Naruto who had his head in his hands.

Naruto ran his hands through his hair before grabbing a clump in the back. He groaned in frustration before slamming his fists on the desk in front of him. He was beginning to get more and more frustrated. "Sorry sensei I guess I got a few things on my mind," he tried to rattle off an excuse.

"Well don't let it happen again," Suzuki tried to bite back. Unlike Luna and the rest of the kitsune elders, Suzuki's bite didn't have much to it. He liked to think of himself as a gruff type like Bruno, but if he was honest with himself he was more laid back like his companion Yasu. "Let's take a break. Maybe you will be able to concentrate after getting up and stretching your legs," Suzuki suggested before getting up himself and sauntering off into a different area of the Kitsune Library.

Naruto continued to stare down at his notes to see the Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal staring back at him. Above and below were some doodles of the explosive seals the group had been working on, but Naruto couldn't get the seal out of his mind. He began to see the parts of the seal, namely the hooks at the ends of the seal. Naruto had been paying attention during their sealing session until the ignition portion of the explosive seal. Naruto had seen something similar before and when he realized where, it had kept his mind busy.

"You've been staring at thing for an hour." Naruto turned his head to see Ishiri looking over his shoulder, his tail swishing behind him with curiosity. "Is that some type of explosive seal? I don't recognize the fuel portion in the middle. Does it release lightning or something instead of an explosion?" Ishiri asked.

Naruto hummed before staring back at the seal that had him confounded. "Honestly I don't even know how it works," Naruto admitted. "I just recognized the ignition part of seal. Though it seems more complex than the basic ignition seal."

"Whatcha mean?" Ishiri questioned. "Seems like a normal ignition seal to me."

Naruto pointed to one of the hooks of the seal. "But they aren't connected like a normal type of ignition seal. It's almost like whoever activates this seal needs to activate both sides at the same time."

Ishiri went quiet as he began to notice what Naruto was talking about. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it himself. He wasn't as good as Naruto at sealing, though he wouldn't say Naruto was necessarily an expert either. He looked back to his partner. "Then how could you activate it?"

"Activate what?" The pair's heads whipped up to see Suzuki walking back toward them.

"This strange explosive seal Naruto made," Ishiri mentioned. Naruto winced at being given credited for something that seemed abusive if Anko and Ibiki were right.

"Is that why you were so distracted Naruto?" Suzuki questioned with a look of hopefulness in his voice. He knew he should have given his student more credit. Naruto was always a hard worker when he saw him and Ishiri train with the other kitsune. "Let's see what you're working on." His facial expression went from happy to horrified in a matter of seconds.

He stared at the piece of paper before a scowl appeared on his face. "Where did you see this seal Naruto?" he growled.

Naruto began to panic. "I didn't make it! I saw it during the exams," he explained with panic.

"Did you see it used?" Suzuki continued to growl. He felt vile begin to come up from just looking at the sick concoction in front of him.

"No I just saw it on someone's forehead."

"A Hyuga's?" Suzuki said more than asked. Naruto nodded his head and Suzuki scoffed. "Bastards. The Uzumaki should have never made that damnable seal."

"M-My family made this?" Naruto asked. He felt deflated with this new knowledge. Would his family really make something that was so monstrous?

"Not this bastardized version," Suzuki explained. "The Hyuga, early in the history of Konoha, had requested aid from the Uzumaki. They feared that their precious Kekkei Genkai would be taken if a clansman ever fell into the hands of an enemy. They hired the Uzumaki, using their connections to the Senju clan, to make a seal that would seal their eyes. They spent months on the seal and finally made a successful version of it, but what they didn't know was the Hyuga seal master, if one could call him that, who was working with them added on to their seal when they returned to Konoha.

"The clan was in a time of turmoil. The hierarchy of the clan was feeling pressure from those that held less power within their ranks. After joining Konoha many in the clan felt that the rules they had followed during the Warring Clans Era were out of date. The powers that be in the clan needed a way to keep them under foot so they tricked the Uzumaki. The Hyuga stole information to change this seal into something that is disgusting."

"What does it do?" Ishiri asked.

"A set of hand seals activates the seal. The seal itself attacks the cells of the human brain, effectively frying them," Suzuki explained. He sighed as he scratched underneath his chin with one of his back paws. "The original seal was designed to destroy the cells that accept light with the structure of the eye, like the rods and cones, that make the Byakugan possible. Technology hasn't been able to replicate the gene responsible for the Kekkei Genkai but the eye could still be harvested and used as a transplant. They took that part of the seal and changed it. While the seal is simple, the processing of layering during the actual sealing conceals the more menacing aspects. It is partly what creates the green color."

"That sounds terrible," Ishiri whimpered. "How could it even help them? They are in Konoha now, what power would be that important?"

Suzuki shrugged. "Politics can be a messy thing. I leave that stuff to Yasu but if I had to guess I would say that those in power wanted to keep it that way."

"Can they do anything about the seal?" Ishiri asked.

The elder scoffed. "Unlikely. I don't think even I could remove the seal. The Uzumaki made their seals damn near unbreakable. Especially on a matter so important, they'd make counter measures to ensure that whoever tried to mess with the seal would die. Kind of a suicide-pill built in to the design. I may not agree with a mechanism like that, but it has its upsides."

"But there has to be some way to break the seal. No seal is impenetrable," Ishiri countered.

"Not this level of sealing," Suzuki commented. "The old blueprints have most likely been lost to the sands of time and even if someone were to find them it would take a true Seal Master, one that comes about once in a century, to be even able to crack it."

"Then teach me."

Both fox's heads turned to the blond Genin. "What was that Naruto?" Suzuki asked with a puzzled look marring his face.

"I said teach me," Naruto stated. "I want to break this seal."

"Naruto it isn-"

"I know it isn't that easy sensei but this is important to me. This is my family's work, something my ancestors made. Even if it was twisted, it was their original design. I can't let that hang over my clan's head," Naruto explained.

Suzuki just stared at the young man before shaking his head and chuckling. "You truly are an Uzumaki. Putting your clan above everything else."

"It's not just for my clan, it is for the Hyuga too. Nobody should be put under that type of curse," Naruto furthered his reasoning. His eyes turned softer as he stared down at the seal. "And maybe I can help my sensei at the same time. If I can learn these type of seals then I can help a lot of people."

"It will take years of studying Naruto," Suzuki explained. "First you need to learn how to form more complex seals, which your well on your way in that aspect. Then you'll need to learn how to seal chakra, specifically chakra of an opponent."

"Then let's get started," Naruto said with excitement. "Something like that will make me almost unbeatable in battle!"

"No," Suzuki barked vehemently. "You are not going anywhere near that level of sealing until I say so."

"But why not?" Naruto screeched. "You said that seal masters can use that type of fuinjutsu in battle already, it's what made my clan so fearsome."

"What is the most important thing about fuinjutsu Naruto?"

"Handwriting of course," Naruto answered like it was a matter of fact.

"Think again Naruto," Suzuki countered. "Before you even begin writing a seal what must you know?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit, his mind rummaging through past lessons. He thought long and hard before scratching his head. "Well I guess it would be what you're writing the seal on."

Suzuki nodded. "The matrix is the most important part of any seal. More important than the handwriting of the individual, more than the composition of the ink or even the seal itself, is the matrix you are writing on. If the matrix is stable the more leniency is given to the seal for any mistakes. Things like paper, stone, wood, these matrices are considered to be stable because of the slow or non-existent changes in their compositions. However one of the most unstable matrices a seal could possibly be imprinted upon is the human body. There is no room for mistakes in making the seal. The ramifications can kill the matrix and even the person making the seal. These are techniques that should be put off until much further into your studies, ok Naruto?"

Naruto sulked before nodding his head. "Yes Suzuki-sensei I understand."

Their session continued on with Naruto concentrating hard on his sensei and the seals before him. Suzuki smiled at his two students. "I'm proud of you Naruto. That work ethic that Bruno and Ahri brag about is certainly true. For your homework and I want you develop a time-delay seal and a motion activated trip seal. Extra credit if you can make a trap that detonates multiple seals at the same time that encompasses a larger area."

"Will do Suzuki-sensei," Naruto nodded with a smile.

"Alright take care you two." With those words Suzuki popped out of existence and back to the Kitsune's realm.

"Finally," Ishiri muttered as he stretched. He shook is head and yawned. "I thought he would never end that session. Kaa-chan was right when she said Suzuki and Yasu-sensei could talk forever." Ishiri noticed a lack of response from his partner. He turned to see Naruto searching through the various scrolls of the library. "Um Naruto . . . What are you doing?"

"Searching for scrolls about sealing chakra," Naruto answered while keeping his head straightforward, continuing to shuffle through scroll after scroll.

"What?! Naruto you can't be serious," Ishiri shrieked. He ran to his partner's side and began to push him in an attempt to get the blond out of the library before he made a mistake. "Come on Naruto you heard Suzuki-sensei, that stuff is over our heads." He yipped as he fell to the ground with a thud. Naruto had shifted to let the fox fly past him.

"Huh didn't think you'd go chicken on me Ishiri," Naruto poked fun at him with a smile. "Besides this wouldn't be the first time we took something from here that was more advanced than where we were at."

"But that was just a wind jutsu Naruto, this is fuinjutsu," Ishiri pointed out. "Besides those were just C-ranked jutsu, not exactly master level techniques like those seals."

"Luna-sama always says to push ourselves right? To find our own paths in this world and go for, right? Well this is me choosing my path and I'm going for it. I'm good at seals Ishiri, even Suzuki-sensei said he was shocked I picked up on them so fast," Naruto explained.

Ishiri sighed, his head hanging low. "There's no stopping you huh?" He could practically hear the shake of his partner's head. "Fine."

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked when he heard shuffling next to him. He turned to see Ishiri rummaging through scrolls as well.

"If my partner is going into something with reckless abandon I might as well help him. Somebody has to make sure you don't die, a second pair of eyes studying and going over this stuff couldn't hurt."

"Thanks Ishiri, this means a lot to me," Naruto said with a smile.

"Yeah well it isn't the first mess you've pulled me into," Ishiri retorted back with a smile on his muzzle.

Naruto threw his head back howling at the remark. "That's definitely true. Come on let's find what we need, get out of here and get some food. What do you say to that?"

Ishiri nodded his head eagerly. "A tender rabbit is sounding really good right now, maybe some berries for dessert too."

•••••

Ishiri groaned as the sound of birds chirping assaulted his ears. He always hated that high pitched sound. He swore he'd come up with a flying jutsu one day so he could chase those damn rats-with-wings away. He mumbled a few incoherent words and scratched at his eyes. Finally, in exacerbation, he groaned one last time and picked his head up. He stuck a paw out to stabilize him as he upper body came off the ground slightly. He blinked as his vision began to clear up from the blurriness of the morning.

He craned his neck to see bowls of ramen strewn out along this ground, scrolls upon scrolls opened with notes scrawled on them accompanying them on the floor's surface. Ishiri looked around before hearing something. He swiveled and turned the other way, his senses coming to him a bit more as he woke up. He sighed at the sight before him.

Naruto was sitting on the ground, leaning on his bed, his head staring at the ceiling. His mouth was ajar with a little drool sliding down his cheek. A scroll was opened on his lap, a pen lying precariously on the ground next to him.

Ishiri pushed himself up, his bones creaking because of the uncomfortable space where he slept. He shook his body to get the kinks out of his back. He walked over to Naruto; he was about to nudge his friend before a thought came to his mind. He smirked and backed up a bit. His tail began twitching rapidly behind him. He took his head back before shooting it forward, a piercing, high pitched yipped coming from his muzzle.

Naruto jumped up with a scream. He fell to the ground and stumbled onto his hands and knees. He jumped and pulled out a kunai, his head moving a mile a minute, waiting for an enemy to strike. He groaned when he saw Ishiri on his bed laughing and rolling around, his legs waving in the air kicking frantically. He was gasping for air as he attempted to calm down from the sight.

"Oh man," Ishiri chuckled out. He turned to his side and coughed a bit. "That was fantastic. I haven't seen you move that fast since you stole Bruno-sensei's food."

Naruto shook his head. He brought a hand from his forehead and down his face, attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, yeah whatever. You got me this time."

"How long did you stay up?" Ishiri asked as he looked over the scrolls from his perch on Naruto's bed. "Damn I don't remember opening half of these scrolls."

Naruto looked up at the clock, he had the day off and Ichiraku's wouldn't be open until nine and the clock was reading eight-thirty. "You fell asleep some time after the scroll that described the theory of sealing the tenketsu by decreasing the size of the flow of the chakra network."

"What do you think of that theory?" Ishiri asked.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Would be better for infiltration. Chakra could still be used but the amount is very diluted. It would bring the amount of chakra usable for jutsu to the level of a civilian. Put a breaker of some type on the seal so you can access your chakra in a pinch, not a bad thing, but against an enemy, in the heat of battle, it has too many variables and is too intricate in detail."

Ishiri groaned. "Another one? Have you found any that could work or any that apply to that seal you showed us yesterday?"

Naruto shrugged. "There are a few torture and interrogations ones that would be interesting to use. Basically acts on the central nervous system of the body so it experiences a pain that isn't there, can be tuned to make it feel like spiders, snakes and worms are crawling over you or that you are freezing to death."

"I bet that crazy sensei of yours would like that one," Ishiri commented.

"Yeah that's for sure," Naruto added with a chuckle. "But there was one that was interesting."

Ishiri perked up at Naruto's remark. "Well?" he asked curiously. "You gonna let me in on this little secret?"

Naruto grabbed a scroll and sprawled it out in front of Ishiri. Ishiri looked at the scroll to see a picture of the human anatomy with the chakra pathways running through the body. Notes were written on the sides with the longest set of notes directed at the large flame that was located in the gut of the skeleton.

Ishiri's eyebrows scrunched up as his eyes danced across the paper. "I don't understand what this 'Chakra Vault' has to do with a seal."

Naruto pointed to a set of notes in a second scroll, the one he had on his lap when Ishiri woke him up. "The Chakra Vault is where the physical energy and spiritual energy that make up chakra mix together. The seal works by disrupting that process. It uses the chakra of the sealer to disrupt this sequence by interjecting the sealer's own chakra into the process. It acts as a decaying agent to eat away the chakra as it is made."

"That's an interesting theory," Ishiri commented. "But doesn't that mean it has a timer on it?"

Naruto nodded. "Depending on the amount of chakra used in the seal, it could last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. If you can make an infinite loop, a process that uses the chakra it consumes to power the seal itself, the effects can even be permanent."

"Well let's see the seal then," Ishiri said with excitement.

"Can't do that."

"Why not?" Ishiri's excitement turned to confusion.

Naruto grabbed his hair with both hands. "There is no 'basic' form of this seal. The seal is based on a few factors. Part of that is the location on the body the seal is placed, how much you want to stunt the chakra process and breakers incase something goes wrong."

"What could go wrong?" Ishiri asked.

"The person's chakra could react to the seal. If that happens the seal could implode and with the amount of chakra that is used in making the seal and the amount of chakra being consumed could make it deadly if all that is released at once."

"So they make the breakers. The seal will burn and break before that can happen."

"Exactly," Naruto muttered. "All those factors make this seal damn near impossible right now. We need to practice the safety seals, the chakra infusion seals, seals that target specific muscles and body parts and finally we have to fiddle with the seal depending on the location of the seal on the body. It is doable, but will take a lot of practice. We can use shadow clones to practice on. If their chakra is disrupted properly they should pop."

"Well then let's get on it. What should we-" Ishiri was interrupted by a knock on the door. Both males froze and went pale. They were in trouble.

"Shit hide," Naruto hissed as he began to pick up the scrolls.

"I'll just take the scrolls and reverse summon myself," Ishiri hissed back.

"No!" Naruto shouted. He clasped his hands on his mouth. "You can't or Suzuki-sensei will no what were are doing." Naruto scooped up the scrolls in a mess and began to push Ishiri towards his bed. "Get under the bed."

"Seriously?"

"Just do it," Naruto hissed as he finally got the kitsune under the bed. He heard another knock again. "Coming!" he shouted. With one final push Ishiri was now hiding under his bed.

Naruto scurried to the front door. He opened it to see a cat mask and purple, flowing hair. Naruto blinked as he looked at the ANBU member. "Um . . . Hi?"

"Uzumaki-san, Hokage-sama has requested your presence," the ANBU explained.

"Um . . ." Naruto looked back to the hallway that led to his room. He didn't really want to see the Hokage on his day off, especially when he had just made a break through in sealing. "I'm kind of busy right now. Working on a project, ya know?"

"This is more of an order than a request," Cat said behind her mask, her voice becoming harsher. It was clear to Naruto that she was bound and determine to drag him to see the old man if he liked it or not.

"You aren't gonna let me say no, huh?" The porcelain mask moved side-to-side. "Can I convince you to at least stop for a morning bowl of ramen?" Another negative response. "Fine." His head fell as he closed the door slightly so he could slip on his sandals before opening it and exiting his apartment.

"You aren't gonna lock your door?" Cat asked with curiosity.

Naruto merely shook his head. "Nothing much to steal in there, and what there is to steal is sentimental."

"That still seems a very flippant attitude toward a place you live in."

"Anko-sensei told me once that if I got careless enough to ignore my surroundings, even if I was in Konoha, and be caught by a trap then I don't deserve to by a shinobi. Besides if someone wants to kill me they're gonna have to do a lot better than a measly trap."

Cat nearly stopped in her tracks. This Genin was beginning to sound more and more like his sensei: bold, bombastic and confident. She remembered when he had found her during one of the academy's tests, how the ANBU commander himself had begun to watch his performances more and more closely, and how is name was being whispered in their ranks as the next possible recruit. He, with or without his own knowledge, was beginning to make a name for himself. His old reputation of the class clown tossed to the side and in its place the picture of a promising shinobi with the charisma of the Shodai hiding the tenacity of an ANBU. Cat made a note to continue watching this interesting young man.

The two continued on in a comfortable silence to the tower. The sight of a young ninja, his hands in his pockets to go with a relaxed stroll, being escorted by a highly ranked ANBU drew a few whispers. Naruto kept his eyes forward with a soft smile on his face, his gaze occasionally turning upwards to view the blue sky above that contained a few wispy clouds. The duo reached the tower and ascended. Naruto didn't even wait for the Hokage's secretary to allow him entrance before opening the doors.

Standing by the window, with the morning sun pouring into the room, stood the aged figure of the Professor. The sun shined off his robes, his hat cast off on his table to show his grey hair, the image of an aged leader, prideful in his stance and powerful in his aura, made Naruto pause and take in the scene before him. He had felt it before, of course, the sense of power, a presence that demanded respect, the regal, and debonair leader the older generations talked about when reminiscing of their golden days, an age since passed. Naruto's breath hitched, this was it, this was the man who had claimed the hat, who had lead Konoha for years with a steady hand. Naruto felt his blood go cold when Hiruzen turned his head, his eyes catching Naruto's baby blues. The gaze was cold, calculating, demanding and inspiring all at once.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto sputtered out.

"Let us have some privacy please." In an instant four ANBU appeared from the shadows of the room and walked out calmly, they knew not to ignore or question an order from their leader when he got like this. When the last member of the elite corps left and the door closed, Hiruzen made a single hand seal, the room illuminating in yellow seals.

Naruto looked around, noticing the pattern. He looked back to the Hokage with a questioning gaze. "A silencing and privacy seal?"

Hiruzen merely nodded his head before walking around his desk, his hands clasped behind his back. "Very impressive. I would not expect a Genin to recognize such a staple of fuinjutsu."

Naruto shrugged, the tension beginning to eat at him. "T&I uses similar techniques though not as complex as these."

Hiruzen nodded his head as he continued to walk forward until he was a few feet in front of Naruto, his gaze holding close with the younger shinobi who looked up at the man with slight tension. "Ibiki has spoken well of you at our meetings along with Yamanaka Inoichi."

Naruto nodded his head. "Ibiki-san and Inoichi-san are very good at their jobs. They have a lot of insight into interrogation."

"They aren't the only ones that speak about your improvements," Hiruzen added. "My son has been very impressed with your wind jutsu, Anko's reports are also complementary. Even Kurenai admitted to underestimating your abilities and Jiraiya made mention of your improvement with the Rasengan."

"I wouldn't necessarily call a fifty-fifty chance of success an improvement," Naruto deflected with slight embarrassment.

Hiruzen nodded before turning back to the window. "Still, to master such a difficult jutsu in such a limited time is quite impressive." He began to walk toward the window and signaled for Naruto to follow. Naruto quietly walked with the aged leader to the window. He stood next to the Professor and silently looked out to see Konoha shining in the light of the sun above, the village bustling with life.

"I recall looking out this window to see my best shinobi chasing a reckless seven year old, with a paint can in hand, across the village," the Hokage reminisced.

Naruto laughed at the memory, the intense air in the room dissipating almost instantly. "I remember that prank, got a couple shop owners after they kicked me out of their stores. I thought my re-decorations looked good."

Hiruzen nodded his head with a look of mirth on his face. "You've grown up a lot since that day Naruto-kun. I've sat here watching you develop from a reckless boy to a respectable shinobi." He turned Naruto with a soft look in his eyes. "While I am inclined to not show favoritism, I often find you push that inclination to its limits. I'm proud of you Naruto-kun and who you've become."

"Jiji," Naruto said quietly.

Hiruzen took a deep sigh before turning his eyes back towards the village. He couldn't continue to stare into those expressive eyes if he wanted to hold himself together. "This life we live, the life of a shinobi, is not an easy one Naruto-kun. So many time we have things taken from us, some before we can even begin to know or understand their importance. My predecessors sought to not only make a world where children would not have to fight, but where they could also experience a parent's love. So many times this blessing is taken away from children leaving a void that can never be truly filled."

Naruto kept his eyes on the Hokage, a hopefulness beginning to sprout in his chest. He watched as Hiruzen turned from the window and toward his desk. He bent down and slowly opened a draw. He pulled out a scroll and looked at it fondly.

"Being Hokage, being a leader, sometimes means that you have to fill that void, Naruto-kun. You try to point those without a family in the right direction, give them some amount of love, a person to talk to, but the love of a parent can very rarely be replicated." He turned back to Naruto with scroll in hand. "I'm very proud of you Naruto-kun, just like I'm sure your mother would be if she could see the young man you are today."

He handed Naruto, who had a stunned look on his face, the scroll. Naruto took it slowly, handling it carefully, as if it were made of glass. He looked over the red scroll that was decorated with the Uzumaki symbol. Naruto looked at the name written on the scroll 'Uzumaki Kushina'. Naruto mumbled the words over and over again in his mind as his hand ran delicately over the name.

"It was a common practice, during war, that ninja of Konoha would make a scroll containing their special jutsus, the techniques they had learned and developed, exercises or mementos from their years of service," Hiruzen explained to the frozen Genin. "It was a way to pass on their knowledge to family members if something were to happen to them in battle. The scroll can only be opened by a family member Naruto-kun. That scroll contains the jutsu and techniques of your mother."

Naruto kept his eyes locked on the scroll, turning it over again and again to insure it wasn't his imagination. The scroll seemed real, the smooth paper sending chills up his body. His stomach was churning, the excitement and anxiety coming together inside him in a tumultuous dance. He looked over the scroll once more and saw what looked like a small paper seal that kept the scroll from unraveling. He went to break it but the seal would not budge. He felt frustration boil inside of him as he continued in a futile attempt to open the scroll.

"It's a blood seal Naruto-kun," Hiruzen pointed out. "It takes some of your blood and chakra to open the seal and unravel the scroll."

Naruto instinctively bit his thumb like he was summoning Ishiri. He smeared a little blood on the seal. He went to put his hand on the blood soaked slip of paper before it paused centimeters above the red liquid. Doubt began to cloud his mind. Was all of this faked? It had to be; this was just too good to be true. He looked back up to meet the Hokage's warm eyes. The warm brown gaze gave him the push he needed. He took a deep breath before finally putting his hand on the seal and pumped a burst of chakra into it. He moved his hand to see the seal behind to crinkle and fall away from the paper.

Before he could even contemplate his thoughts, the scroll was flying opening. A piece of paper fell from the scroll onto the ground. Naruto ignored it before looking into the scroll to see storage seals upon storage seals each with different labels and notes next to it. A smile as bright as the sun came to his face before the piece of paper caught his eye. He peered over the scroll to see it lying on the ground. He rolled up the scroll before reaching down and grabbing it.

Naruto turned the piece of paper and gasped. Staring at him were beautiful violet eyes. To Naruto she was the most beautiful woman her had ever seen. She had a heart shaped face with striking red hair that flowed down her back, the only restraint was a small yellow hair pin that kept her red locks out of her violet, piercing eyes. She had a soft smile on her face, a loving smile of a person with a caring heart, one meant to break down barriers, a mother's smile.

Hiruzen's smile faltered when the sound of tears hitting his wood floors sounded in the silence. He tilted his head so he could see the blond boy's face. His eyes widened when he saw tears streaming down Naruto's visage. He took a step forward, a hand reaching out to comfort the young shinobi before he was pushed back. He looked down to the boy that was crying into his chest, the grip getting tighter and tighter.

"Thank you," Naruto sobbed. "Thank you, Jiji."

"It's ok Naruto-kun," Hiruzen comforted as he patted the boy on the back. He could feel the tears begin to seep through his robes, but he didn't mind. How many times had he been in this same position? How many times had he been the shoulder to cry on when a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a child was told about the untimely death of a loved one? This was different though, these were tears of joy, of a boy he considered family finally learning about something he sought for so long. This was a time Hiruzen was glad he could finally comfort someone because it was soothing his own soul too.

After crying for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, Naruto let go and backed up. A cough escaped his mouth as he was trying to control his breathing. He coughed again and brought a hand to his nose and wiped it. He began to laugh and it rang through the room. The laugh seemed to take away a weight he hadn't even realized was on his shoulders.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked to Hiruzen with puffy eyes and a smile. "Yeah I am Jiji, thanks." He looked back down to the picture of his mother, her smile brightening his entire world. "Hey Jiji, what was she like?"

Hiruzen smiled at the boy who was looking longingly at the picture still in his hands, the scroll nearly forgotten resting on the desk. "Believe it or not she was a lot like you, Naruto-kun. Bull-headed to a fault, loud mouthed and even had a similar verbal tick. You didn't inherit as of a temper though, thank goodness. She was known as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, because of her hair and her fiery personality. She terrorized all the boys in her class at the academy that ever made fun of her hair. She was a handful."

"She sounds awesome dattebayo," Naruto exclaimed, albeit a little less enthusiastically than normal.

"She was a remarkable person and shinobi," Hiruzen added. "She made a lot of enemies because of her fuinjutsu and kenjutsu techniques." Hiruzen sighed; he still had to get something off his chest. "That's why we had to keep it a secret Naruto-kun. Her techniques were from your clan and feared throughout the Elemental Nations. We feared, I feared, you'd be targeted if they found out about her being your mother. Many people would kill for what is in that scroll, some even here in Konoha." An old warhawk being front and center in the Hokage's mind. "I'm sorry that I kept this from you for so long Naruto-kun."

"I have her now though," Naruto said with a toothy smile. "It may not be a lot but it's something, more than I ever thought I'd have." Naruto moved to the scroll and rolled it out on the desk. His eyes began to scan the seals, his excitement growing with each one. "So these are her techniques?"

Hiruzen nodded. "Yep, her notes and everything she had mastered and even worked on. They may not be the originals but they are exact copies, of course that is if she followed directions. It was always a crapshoot with your mother. She tended to only here half the orders before bounding off into the fray."

"I guess I am her son then," Naruto said.

"If you want I can help with a few of the fuinjutsu techniques in there. I may not have been at the same level as Kushina but I know a few things about seals," Hiruzen offered.

Naruto shook his head fervently. "No, I want to go off my mom's notes. I was told that a person's own jutsu tell a lot about them. Their notes tell their story. I want to experience this on my own Jiji, I want to really know my mom as best I can."

Sarutobi smiled gently and panted the boy on the shoulder. "A very mature thing to say Naruto-kun." Hiruzen briefly scanned the page before a specific seal jumped out at him. He pointed at it. "Then why don't you start with that one Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at the seal with a raised eyebrow. "Adamantine Sealing Chains?" Naruto's eyebrows rose even further when he heard the grumblings of his tenant deep in his mind. He seemed to have recognized the jutsu. Shrugging his shoulders Naruto put chakra into the seal. A pop and a flurry of smoke later, there sat a pile of chains and more scrolls.

Naruto picked up the chains and pulled on them. They seemed darker than average steal but he didn't see anything special about them. "These were her secret techniques? I mean they are made of the same metal as Asuma-sensei's trench knives but they seem too bulky for battle."

Hiruzen shook his head. "They are merely training tools for a technique that was looked at as a pseudo-Kekkei Genkai for the Uzumaki."

"Really?" Naruto shouted with excitement.

"The technique demands a strong and dense chakra, something rarely found outside of the Uzumaki Clan. This is one of their most feared jutsu Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked back down at the chains with awe. He quickly sealed the chains back into the scroll. He grabbed the scroll and gave the Hokage a hug before bounding to the door. "I got to go Jiji."

"Wait Naruto-kun where are you going?" Hiruzen shouted in shock.

"I got to get to training if I'm gonna master Kaa-chan's jutsus."

"But don't you want to hear more about your mother?" Hiruzen asked, trying to keep the boy a little longer.

"Maybe over a bowl of ramen sometime old man," Naruto shouted back as he opened the door and screamed past Cat and her fellow ANBU members who only saw a yellow and orange streak shoot past them.

Hiruzen turned when he heard laughing to see Jiraiya leaning on the wall next to the picture of his student. "You did say he was just like her," he pointed out.

Sarutobi only nodded as his eyes went to the picture next to his own student. He could have sworn Minato was smiling back at him. He sighed as walked to his desk and fell in his chair, a feeling of relief flooding over him. He felt years younger, a spring in his step returning.

He turned to his student with a sly smirk. "You wouldn't happen to be in the mood for a slight spar would you Jiraiya-kun?"

"Not today old man," Jiraiya said with a shake of his head. "I'm going to go make sure the gaki doesn't kill himself with those chains. I remember Kushina sending Hyuga Hiashi to the hospital when she first began learning that technique."

"He still says she did it on purpose to this day," Hiruzen responded with a chuckle.

•••••

Ishiri looked up from his plate that had a nice, fresh rabbit on it when the door busted open to see a smiling Naruto holding a scroll. "Another sealing scroll?" he questioned.

"Nope we are gonna skip sealing today," Naruto exclaimed.

"But we got so much work done last night," Ishiri whined.

"Oh can it," Naruto retorted back. "We'll let clones do the dirty work here with seals while we go and have some fun."

Ishiri perked up at that. "Another prank on the Inuzuka?" Ishiri asked with a hopeful tone.

Naruto shook his head. "Even better."

Ishiri tilted his head. "An all-you-can-eat ramen and rabbit restaurant?"

Naruto paused at that. "Ok maybe not as good as that. But I got a few Uzumaki secret clan jutsus. Come on!" Naruto motioned for Ishiri to follow him. He made a few clones before running out the door.

"Hey wait for me," Ishiri yelled before transforming into a dog and scampering out the door to follow his partner.

"Man why do we get the boring work?" one cloned complained as he picked up a scroll and began to reread the notes from the previous night, the other clones soon following each griping about having to work on seals instead of secret clan techniques.


	25. A Family Rivalry

**Hey guys! I'm back again pretty quickly with another chapter. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, probably why it didn't take that long. I hope you guys like** **this chapter, because I feel it is fairly important.**

 **As always please, please, please review the fanfic. Tell me what you think, what you like, what you don't like, what areas I can improve on. I like critiques and I like getting better!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 25**

"God dammit, Naruto!" Ishiri yelled.

Ishiri yelped and moved his head, barely avoiding the knifepoint that was connected to one of the training chains Naruto had just been given. The chain imbedded itself in the tree right behind the young fox. Ishiri sighed before turning and screaming. He ducked and covered his head with his paws as another chain came careening towards him. The chain joined the first piece of metal that was already imbedded in the tree, but not before clipping Ishiri's tail that was sticking up in the air.

Ishiri jumped off the ground with a scream of pain. He grabbed his tail with his front paws and hugged it to his body. He inspected his tail to see a chunk of fur missing and a decent cut in the middle of his otherwise bushy tail. He licked his wound twice before turning and glaring at the culprit of the attack.

"Every time you try a new jutsu I'm the one that gets hurt! Every God damn time," he accused.

"It's not like you're the only one with a few nicks," Naruto muttered under his breath. Naruto's shirt was torn to shreds and barely hanging onto his frame, showing the black shirt he had underneath that was also sporting a few tears.

The duo was sitting in a small clearing. Limbs of trees lay scattered around the clearing along with a few down trees. The scroll had made it seem so easy, simply pump chakra into the chains and they'd be able to move as the controller wished. Nothing was ever that simple, Naruto found out. His concentration needed to be precise or else the chains would take off in any random direction. A bird chirping, a falling leaf, or rustling bush was enough of a distraction for the young shinobi who had been taught to be ever vigilant. If Naruto ever took his eye off the chains, even for a split second, the chains would shoot off toward the new destination of Naruto's attention.

To top that off the duo found out about the danger of putting too much chakra into the metal. The chains meant to just embed itself into a tree turned into a complete demolition job that went three trees deep into the forest that surrounded the clearing. It was a mix of deep concentration and minimal chakra that was tripping up the young Genin.

"What does your mom say about the technique?" Ishiri question. "She had to have run into the same problems."

Naruto nodded. "Kaa-chan says that you have to become the chains, like they are your own chakra, but they also have to be separate from your mind."

Ishiri tilted his head. "So you need to be two people at the same time?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It says here that this 'teme-baka' kept on distracting her during her exercises and the same things happened to him that just happened to you. They must have been on the same team or something."

"This doesn't seem like a very good jutsu," Ishiri said. "I mean if you have to be so focused on the chains that someone could get the drop on you it doesn't seem to be very practical."

Naruto nodded as he leaned forward, putting his hands on his legs, which were crossed in front of him, and stared down at the scroll. "Maybe it becomes second nature or something," Naruto reasoned. "Right now I am so focused on getting the chakra amount right that I can't focus on anything else. I bet it turns into second nature after a while."

"Maybe we should try a single chain for now," Ishiri suggested.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, Kaa-chan said she jumped right into two and three chains."

"Well roll the scroll out some more then," Ishiri yipped. "Maybe she can give you some tips or something because right now this jutsu is a dud."

"Agreed." Naruto rolled the scroll out a little further before big, bold letters could be seen with multiple arrows, underlines and exclamation points surrounding it. Naruto sweat-dropped at the message.

 **Mistakes were made! Start with only one chain!**

"How much did you roll this scroll out again?" Ishiri questioned as he glared at his partner.

Naruto put his hand behind his head and awkwardly laughed. "Um . . . well . . . just enough to get the idea of the jutsu."

"So you mean my tail got shaved for nothing?" Ishiri barked. He took a step toward his partner, one he wasn't happy with at the moment, with a growl.

Naruto scooted back a bit with his hands in front of him defensively. "I wouldn't call it 'for nothing' Ishiri," he stammered. "I mean I did get the amount of chakra needed down . . . roughly."

"Roughly?" Ishiri shouted in exacerbation. He opened his mouth to chew his partner out even further when he froze. "Did you hear that?"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at his partner. "What are you talking about?"

"Something smells off and there are faint footsteps approaching," Ishiri said as he lowered his body to the ground, tail waving behind his body. "And I can't smell Konoha on whatever it is, not even a bit."

Naruto reached back into pouch and produced three shuriken. He got up and into a readied stance. He felt chakra flood his nose, ears and eyes. He began to pick up a familiar scent and the faint footsteps of a person circling the clearing. "Yeah I hear it now," Naruto muttered.

"Code," Ishiri muttered back. His tail began to dance in a more fluid motion. " _10 o'clock, inside of 100 meters but outside of 50."_

Naruto's free hand began to move in his own signals. _"Single person, wearing geta. Older male by the smell."_

 _"Smells of ink and tabacco,_ " Ishiri pointed out.

The duo stayed put and readied themselves before the sound and smell vanished. Both froze before going back to back and scanning the clearing. They couldn't pick up a single sound or smell from the environment around them.

"This is bad," Naruto rasped.

"Yeah, he could have left but those footsteps were approaching us before they vanished," Ishiri pointed out.

The paired turned when they heard a rustling from their left. The tension in their bodies seemed to disappear when a pair of dice came flying toward them. The dice hit the floor of the clearing, rolling and ended at their feet harmlessly.

"Dice?" Naruto asked in disbelief. His disbelief was shattered when the pair of dice enveloped the duo in an explosion. Naruto and Ishiri went flying. Naruto hit on his back and rolled into a crouch. He sent the shuriken flying into the forest where the dice had come from.

Three cards came flying out of the clearing spinning. The pieces of paper hit the shuriken, the projectiles deflecting off each other as if the cards were metal. The cards stayed suspended in the air before another explosion ripped through the air. Naruto had jumped out of the way of another volley of cards that came flying out of the cloud of smoke. Naruto gasped when he felt something cut his side.

He put his hand on his side before bringing it up to see blood. He looked to the flying cards to see that they had ripped through the side of trees before being embedded in trees deep inside the forest. Naruto's head whipped around when he heard the sound of a fire jutsu.

Ishiri dug his paws into the dirt to stop his skid before jumping into the offensive. He used the smokescreen provide by the explosion of the three cards to get into the forest. He bounded up a tree and got behind the person that had attacked them. Ishiri reared his head back and launched it forward allowing a torrent of flames to spew from his mouth.

His target turned at the last second and bounded into the clearing to avoid the technique. Ishiri jumped up and twisted his body, sending senbon-like hairs from his furry tail at the unknown assailant.

The man jumped back again but grunted in pain as one found its way into his thigh. He had turned around quickly when he heard another jutsu come from his second opponent.

Naruto took a kunai out and put into his mouth as he went through hand seals in a hurry. He saw his chance as the unknown opponent jumped into the clearing, away from the flames of his partner. He pulled out the kunai when he was done with the hand seals, wind immediately wrapping around the knife. "Wind Release: Wind Drill Jutsu," he shouted as he threw the kunai. The kunai began to spin at a high rate, the wind whipping around it turning into a tornado-esque projectile.

The assailant had to act quickly. He reached into his haori and produced a simple playing card. He threw the card out before bring his off hand up with his middle and pointer finger straight and together, the other's clutched. "Fuin," he shouted. The card turned straight so it was vertical to the ground, a sealing appearing almost instantly. The seal sparked to life before a purple barrier appeared.

Naruto's jutsu connected with the barrier and caused an explosion that enveloped the strange man from his view. Ishiri jumped down and into a battle-ready position, the forest beginning to burn behind him from his jutsu. The smoke began to clear. Naruto peered in, his jaw dropped at what he saw. The barrier was still up but the man inside of the barrier was the real surprise.

"Sa-Satomi?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

There, standing before him, was the peppered haired, smoking gambler he had seen yesterday. The man turned to him with a cheeky smile.

"Hey kid."

"Naruto you know this guy?" Ishiri questioned from the other side of the barrier that separated the duo from the man on inside.

"Sort of. It's that guy I won some money off of yesterday," Naruto responded.

"Well what the fuck is he doing here attacking us?"

"Huh didn't know you had an animal contract," Satomi said nonchalantly. "Pretty good for a kid your age. Even puts up a pretty good fight. Gonna have to find some place to get this thing patched up." He grunted when he pulled out the piece of hair from his leg. He examined it a bit and whistled. "Good technique, thankfully wasn't laced with poisoned."

"Enough about that!" Naruto shouted. He pointed at him with an angry look in his eyes. "Why are you here? Why did you attack us? And why do you know fuinjutsu?"

"Man kid you sure got a lot of questions." He bent down and began to look at the chains before turning to the main scroll that Naruto had received. "But I guess I can cut my answer short: I'm taking this scroll kid."

"Hey that's a family scroll," Naruto responded with a snarl.

"I know kid, that's why I'm taking it." Satomi seemed to accentuate his point by flipping the scroll up and down in his hands a few times. "The Uzumaki were always known for their seals, but they died when Uzushiogakure fell. Been searching a long time for a surviving member of that clan. Imagine my luck when an Uzumaki just happens to fall right in my lap at my own gambling stand, and he happens to have a scroll on him with Uzumaki seals in it."

"How'd you know I had that scroll?" Naruto howled.

Satomi just shrugged. "Didn't honestly, but I figured if I followed you enough you'd study seals of some type and I'd take what you had when I got the chance. Out here, in the middle of the forest, best chance I was probably going to get," he explained as he gestured around the trio to the trees and clearing.

"You're going to give those back right now," Naruto declared as he took a step forward.

"Sorry, no can do kid. Now if you don't mind-" Satomi was cut short when Naruto let out a roar and ran forward, a Rasengan in his right hand. He howled and threw his hand forward, the blue sphere of chakra colliding with the barrier. Satomi's head shot back and he laughed. "Good luck trying to break this seal kid. This is my best barrier seal."

"That's my Kaa-chan's scroll," Naruto grunted. He pushed harder and harder, he could feel the barrier begin to give. He gave one last push. "I won't let you take it!"

Satomi's eyes widened when a crack began to appear in the barrier. Suddenly the barrier shattered into a purple light. He jumped back to avoid the sphere. He reached into his haori and flipped into the air. He slapped a card on Ishiri's back, who came barreling forward with paws lit on fire. He landed and made another single hand seal. "Fuin," he said. Ishiri yipped and hit the ground with a thud.

Naruto moved through the barrier, a smile on his face. His smile turned to horror as the black lines that made of up the seal suddenly began to wrap themselves around him. He felt his muscles seize, his breathing becoming heavier and his heart rate soaring. He hit the ground with a thud and skidded to a stop next to his downed partner.

"P-poison?" Naruto muttered out weakly, lifting his head to see Satomi smiling down at him. His vision was shaky at best, blurring and barely focusing.

"A counter measure I designed in the seal," Satomi gloated. "If the barrier were to ever break then the ink and seal would wrap around what broke it, this time you. The seal was made with a special type of ink that is laced with a poison that acts on the muscles of the body, effectively stunning the victim. The brilliant part of the seal is that the poison only activates when exposed to chakra. I took it from these spider summons I met some time ago. Their summoner was kind enough to give me some of their poison. It's one of my best seals if I do say so myself. Don't worry it'll wear off in a couple of hours but by then I'll be long gone." Satomi turned to leave the pair before Naruto's voice stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere."

Satomi turned around to respond before gasping. Naruto was struggling to his feet. He seemed to be partially glowing in a bright orange and yellow mixture of chakra. He paused when he saw the Genin's eyes. His eyes were piercing yellow, the same as his fox partner's.

"I won't let you take my mother's scroll," he roared and jumped forward, a kunai in hand.

Satomi put the scroll in his haori before twisting and dodging the lunging kunai. Satomi grabbed Naruto's wrist with the kunai using his off hand. The brought another seal out of his haori and attempted to slap it on the Genin's back. He gasped in pain when Naruto twisted in mid air and connected a kick square to his chest.

He hit a tree with a powerful thud. He groaned and opened his eyes in time to duck and roll out of another Rasengan.

Naruto pulled his hand out from the tree and jumped into the limps above when he heard the sounds of more cards flying through the hair. He did a backflip from the highest point of the tree and ran through hand signs as quickly as possible. "Wind Release: Air Bullet Jutsu," Naruto shouted before letting loose four powerful attacks.

Satomi snarled when he felt he was running low on cards with seals on them. _Damn I should have come more prepared. Oh well these will have to work._ He took out his remaining cards and threw them at the attacks.

Naruto smirked from his jump when saw his jutsu go through the cards like they were nothing, the cards seemed to just hit and bounce off. Satomi only managed to dodge two attacks before one bullet caught his left shoulder. He cried out in pain before he got hit square in the chest by the fourth attack.

Naruto began to stalk over to his downed foe. "I told you I wasn't going to let you get away with my family's jutsu."

Satomi lifted his head with a smirk on his face. "Yo-you think won, aye kid?"

"Considering I just kicked your ass, yes, yes I do!"

"Think again." Satomi brought a hand up into another seal. "Fuin."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks with a confused look on his face. A light from the corner of his eyes caught his attention. He turned to see one of the four cards Satomi had just thrown. His head whipped around again to see that he was in the middle of all four cards, each glowing bright blue.

"Shit," Naruto muttered before lightning seemed to jump out of the cards and strike him. Naruto howled in pain, electricity seemingly flowing through his body. He continued to howl before the cards finally stopped glowing and he hit the ground with a thud.

"Naruto! What did you do to him?" Ishiri barked from his spot on the ground.

Satomi pushed himself up off the ground, gasping for air. He had to admit that the kid packed a pretty good punch for only being a Genin. "Relax would ya?" he rasped out. "I merely locked his tenketsu up using lightning strikes that target the chakra network. Basically what the Hyuga do only much more effective."

"How do you know about the Hyuga? They're a Konoha clan." Ishiri and Satomi looked and saw Naruto struggling to move his head, his body face down on the ground.

"Should have known a Jinchuriki wouldn't stay down from that for too long," Satomi said. He saw the whiskered blond boy's eyes widened at a stranger knowing his secret. Satomi waved him off. "The Hyuga's techniques aren't that big of a secret, most clan jutsu aren't. But what makes the Hyuga's techniques impossible to replicate is the Byakugan. I simply skirted around it with some seals. As for me knowing about your little secret, well Jinchuriki aren't affected by poison and if they are the effects wear off quickly. But that's enough talk, I got to get out of here before this place burns down."

"Not before you give back that scroll."

Satomi felt something go into his haori. He looked down to see a big tongue come rushing out with the scroll in its grasp. He jumped to grab it but not before a being pinned to a tree but a black and red toad with armor that stood a little shorter than himself. He looked behind the toad to see a man with white hair beginning to walk into the clearing with more toads spraying water and working to douse the fire.

Jiraiya walked over and plucked the scroll from his toad's mouth. "Arigato Gama. You did good. You and the rest of the toads can go home now." Gama gave a nod and he and the rest of the toads vanished with the forest fire now in check. Jiraiya turned to the downed ninja next. "As for you, I can't say it's a pleasure to see you again Kashiwagi Satomi."

"Likewise Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"Y-You know this guy Pervy Sage?" Naruto questioned, still on the ground.

"Hai, he his from the all-but-extinct Kashiwagi Clan of Yugakure. They were rivals of sorts to the Uzumaki. Both clans were known for their seals but the Uzumaki were more respected in the shinobi community," Jiraiya commented.

"Bah the only reason they were more well known is because of their bigger numbers and their relationship to the Senju," Satomi spat. "We had seals that were just as good or better than the Uzumaki."

Jiraiya just folded his arms and shook his head. "And yet you could never seal a tailed beast. You were rivals to the Uzumaki in your own minds and no where else."

"Shut up," Satomi barked. "We were a proud clan, we fought with honor and only used our seals to help and defend our homes."

"Is that why you attacked Naruto? For honor? As revenge, a sort of last one-ups-man-ship to spite the Uzumaki name?" Jiraiya questioned with a foot on Satomi's chest to keep him in place.

"Revenge yes, but I have no ill-will towards the Uzumaki," Satomi said before groaning as Jiraiya pushed harder, the tree creaking in protest.

"Then why attack and take the scrolls."

"You know as well I do Jiraiya that my clan was decimated, slaughtered in cold blood after Yugakure decided to disarm itself and stay out of another needless war," Satomi explained. "The Kashiwagi, we saw what happened to the Uzumaki, we didn't want that same thing happening to us. We decided to drop our militarization, stop accepting requests as a hidden shinobi village, but not everyone agreed. So you can imagine my surprise when I come home from my last mission as a shinobi to my family slaughtered, my entire clan, by that monster."

"Hidan of the Akatsuki," Jiraiya finished for the man.

"Yeah the very same one." Satomi's eyes fell with a sad look. "My seals are no match for him, I tried everything but nothing worked."

"So you sought out the one clan that could have seals that would beat him," Jiraiya again finished for him. He got a nod as a response. "You tried looking for the Uzumaki Library." Another affirmative nod. "And throughout the Elemental Nations thinking some Uzumaki fled, but didn't trust Konoha thinking we had betrayed them."

"You read me like a book Jiraiya," Satomi said with weak laugh.

"What happened to your family was a terrible, terrible thing Satomi, but it took place 20 years ago. Let it go, start over. There is still time to resurrect your clan, your family," Jiraiya reasoned.

Satomi shook his head. "There is no starting over for me Jiraiya. I held my wife and baby girl in my own arms, their blood staining my clothes. How can I move on when I already lost everything?"

"Give up on that dream, it will only kill you Kashiwagi."

"I've been dead for twenty years Jiraiya. Twenty long years," Satomi said with one last smile before pooffing into smoke and being replaced with a log.

Jiraiya hummed before checking the scroll. Satisfied that it was the original he went over to the two downed males. He looked curiously at the fox and the seal on his back. "Huh he actually made a decent weight seal," he said as he took the card off of Ishiri.

Ishiri sighed, a weight had just been lifted and it felt good. He pushed himself up and shook a little bit. "Thanks for that old man, now come on we got to get to Naruto."

"Wait, are you his summons?" Jiraiya asked.

"We liked to think of it as more of a partnership," Ishiri responded.

"Is thiat why the kid was hell bent on not signing the Toad Contract?"

"Oi we don't share!" Ishiri bit back.

"But toads are so much cooler than foxes," Jiraiya pouted.

"Are you going to sit there and complain or are you going to fucking help me here? Naruto never stays down this long!" Ishiri scolded.

Jiraiya sighed and walked over to see Naruto unconscious. He bent down and picked the boy up, carrying him in his arms. "He must have passed out during our chat. If your not use to your tenketsu being closed then you find your energy gets zapped pretty quickly. I'll get him to the hospital if you want to head back to wherever you come from."

"I'd prefer to monitor you when you have my partner Gama-summoner," Ishiri said with a snarl.

Jiraiya just shrugged. "Suit yourself you mangy mutt." Ishiri didn't have time to respond before Jiraiya was bounding his way to the hospital, Naruto in his hands along with the chains and the scroll.

•••••

Kurama's tails swung behind him in a bored manner, his mind thinking of what had transpired. The same pull from the gates had happened, but this time he had let his chakra go freely, he even pushed more into the seal.

 **"Why does this Kit's chakra accept mine so readily?"** the beast pondered with frustration. **"Is his will that strong?"** An image appeared in his mind, the image of man with a staff in hand and robes that reached the ground. Kurama grunted and settled his head in his paws. **"This vessel is becoming more and more interesting everyday . . ."**


	26. Hospitals Aren't All Bad

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! This one took longer than expected to write but I think it went alright. I think a lot of people will like it. It's that time of year again (snow falling, peppermint everything and warm blankets) and I want to wish all my readers a happy holidays. No matter your ethnicity, your religion, your location on this earth, I hope that you can spend this part of the year with family and friends!**

 **Like always please review this chapter! Tell me what you think, your likes and dislikes, critiques and advice, I like hearing from you!**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 26**

Hinata played with her fingers as humming could be heard throughout her room. The sound of papers shuffling and notes being taken seemed to eat away at her nerves. She looked up when the click of a pen seemed to signify the end of the scrutiny.

"The CT scans seem to show that the blood vessels have healed nicely," Hyuga Midori explained. "The iodine-based dye we injected into your blood stream would have shown thinned blood vessels or clog arteries following your surgery if there were any complications. We can take you off any diet restrictions, minus high fat content foods, and you can also begin walking."

"When can she start training again?" Midori's vision went from her patient to the stoic Hyuga Hiashi. He stood near the bed with his arms in the sleeves of his kimono next to his youngest daughter, Hyuga Hanabi.

Midori resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the patriarch of the clan. She found his strict and harsh demeanor to be excessive, even for a Hyuga. She looked at the charts again and pretended to think, even though she already knew the answer.

"The chakra pathways pose a potential threat to the blood vessels that had just been repaired." Midori put down her charts and looked the Main Branch member in the eye, no quivering in her vision. "When chakra is used it puts a strain on the blood veins, along with physical exercise that can spike the heart rate to the point that could cause her more complications if she comes back too soon from this surgery."

"That did not answer my question," Hiashi responded with a cold and harsh tone in voice. "When can she get back to her training and her shinobi responsibilities?"

Midori couldn't hold back the sigh that escaped her lips. Why couldn't they have this conversation away from her patient? She knew the answer: Hyuga Hiashi was a damn stubborn, prideful individual.

"A month before basic chakra control exercises and physical movement like jogging, two months before training like she was before the surgery and another three before I will clear her for C-ranked missions or higher. That is if she continues her treatment with myself or other med-nin to ensure her veins don't deteriorate."

Hiashi glared at the medic before closing his eyes and walk out of the room. "She will be assignment ready in two. I see no reason why she would not be able to train and still not go on missions." With that he vanished through the door.

Hanabi looked from her father to her sister who looked more dejected than when the duo had initially entered. Hanabi opened her mouth but was cut off by the voice of her father.

"Come Hanabi, we have things to do."

"Hai Otou-sama," Hanabi responded with a nod. She took her eyes off her sister and exited the room, leaving Midori and Hinata alone in an awkward silence.

Midori turned back to her patient. Hinata's eyes were downcast and looking into her hands that were interlocked in her lap. Midori walked over to the box on the far side of the room, where she had moved it to in case her charge got an idea in her mind to sneak a treat, and grabbed it. She moved to her patient and placed it in her lap. Hinata looked up, a look of surprise in her eyes. Midori simply shrugged.

"I did say you were taken off of dietary restrictions, didn't I?" Midori said with a wink and smile. She was rewarded with a small smile and thankful look in Hinata's eyes.

"Arigato Midori-san," Hinata thanked the medic.

Midori waved her off. "When we are alone you do not need to be so formal Hinata-sama. Midori is fine."

Hinata swallowed the bit of the pastry she had eaten and looked at her kin. "Th-Then you can call me Hinata too. I don't like being called –sama," she said quietly.

Midori nodded her head. "So what do you think about taking a walk outside today? After all it's about time we get you out of bed even if it is for a few minutes."

Hinata nodded her. "It-It would be nice to get some fresh air. It smells funny in here."

"Well we'll be sure to get you out of here in a few days. Rest for another two days then we'll need to preform another CT scan to make sure the movement and physical therapy doesn't undo some of the work that has been done." Midori noticed the grimace that graced Hinata's features at the mention of a second CT scan. "Is something wrong?"

Hinata played with the edged of the box and looked at Midori. "I don't like the dye. It feels weird, like my skin is wet and cold."

Midori chuckled at the response. It wasn't that surprising to hear from the younger Hyuga. She had heard the same complaints from her patients, civilians and shinobi alike. She remembered one time a patient had pissed himself in the actual machine because of the sensation of the dye in his veins. The analyst in charge of the machine had not been the happiest person in the world that day.

"We'll go after dinner, it's about the time the cafeteria opens up and takes orders," Midori explained. She grabbed a menu and went to hand it to Hinata before a voice could be heard over the sound system.

"Hyuga Midori please report to the Emergency Room. Hyuga Midori to the Emergency Room."

Midori nodded her head as if the voice could see her response. She looked back to her patient. "I'll be sure a nurse comes and checks up on you," she said before exiting the room.

Hinata bit down into one of cinnamon rolls and smiled as she thought about the person who gave it to her. _I wonder when Naruto-kun is gonna visit?_

•••••

Midori walked calmly through the halls of the hospital without a sense of urgency. If it had been a case that had been life-or-death the voice would have been more demanding and less polite. She greeted a few nurses and patients she passed before opening the dual door entrance. She walked toward the main nurses station that was in the middle of circular room that had eight rooms on the outside with sliding doors for easier access. She walked to the head nurse and was pointed toward a room with door closed and curtain drawn so no one could see inside; privacy was something they tried to provide for their patients.

"How can I hel-" she said as she drew the curtains back only for her voice to vanish. Lying on the bed was Uzumaki Naruto, his shirt torn to shreds, his face dirtied and a little bloodied, with weird black lines on the clothes and skin that weren't torn.

"A Hyuga? Surprising." Midori turned to see Jiraiya sitting on a chair next to the bed, leaning back with his hands folded across his chest. She could feel his eyes scrutinizing her, not in his usually lecherous way, but one that made her blood go cold. "Is this your first time in an emergency room?" he questioned when he noticed she had lost her voice.

Midori glared at the older man. "No it isn't. I have been on plenty of Emergency Room shifts."

"Could have fooled me," Jiraiya mumbled. He looked up to see the glare of the med-nin. "I'm not the one needing the exam, although if you're offering . . ."

"Highly unlikely," Midori scoffed. She saw the lecherous smirk on the older man's face and chose to ignore it. "What is wrong with Uzumaki-san?"

"It seems his tenketsu have been completely locked up," Jiraiya explained. "He hasn't experienced something like this before and they don't seemed to be opening on their own like they should be. Brought him here and they said they had someone that was perfect for the job. Have to agree, a Hyuga would seem to be aptly suited for the gig."

Midori didn't pause before activating her Kekkei Genkai and taking a closer look at her newest patient. She hummed when she what the issue was. His tenketsu were certainly closed and thoroughly, as if her clan had done this to him. She looked to the Sannin member. "This was very precise, no damage to the internal organs, no strain to the blood vessels or muscles surrounding the tenketsu. Who did this to him?"

"That isn't important," Jiraiya told her.

"Did one of my clansman do this to him?" She just cut straight to her point, the thing she wanted to know the most. There was no one else that she could think of that could be this precise.

Jiraiya just shook his head. "Not happening."

"Then what about these black markings? Clearly they are a seal of some sort."

"Laced with poison on top of that, but his . . . condition took care of it. He just needs his tenketsu re-opened and we'll be on our way," Jiraiya explained.

"He'll need a change of clothes then. That poison could rub off and cause someone else issues even if he is fine." Midori sighed and reactivated her Kekkei Genkai, it was obvious that she wasn't going to get the answers she wanted. She ran through a set of hand signs before bring her finger up and putting it on Naruto's forehead. A thin veil of lighting seemed to dance around his body before she took her finger off of him and looked back to toad summoner. "His tenketsu have been opened but he is suffering from chakra exhaustion. We'll set up a room for him and monitor him there, although, knowing him, he'll be ready to leave in a few hours."

Jiraiya nodded his head. "Thank you for helping him."

"It's my job," Midori shook off the gratitude. "I'm happy to help someone as kind as him."

"How do you expect to move him?" Jiraiya questioned.

"We have wheels on our beds incase we need to move a patient that is in a nonresponsive state. Makes our lives easier," she answered.

Jiraiya nodded and watched two nurses enter the room and begin pushing the unconscious Genin out of the room. Jiraiya followed them out and through the doors into the halls of the hospital. He walked side by side with Midori before a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Where is he?"

The duo turned around to a very pissed off Mitarashi Anko. She glared at the two before walking over until she was right in front of Jiraiya. Trying her best to be intimidating, she looked up a bit but snarled still.

"Where is my gaki?" she barked again.

"Uzumaki-san is being transferred to a room to rest," Midori answered calmly.

Anko took a step back and looked at the Hyuga. Seeing she was wearing the outfit of a doctor, with her hitai-ate wrapped on her forehead, satiated the pissed Tokubetsu. She nodded before looking at the pervert in front her. "Good then you can leave. I'll be sure to tell the gaki you were here."

"Hey now, I was the one that brought him in and dammit I'm gonna talk to him when he wakes up," Jiraiya shouted back.

"You have no right to be around him right now," Anko shot back. "It's after visiting hours and you are not a family member, the Hokage or his sensei. I am, not you. Now leave."

"You can't keep him from me for forever," Jiraiya commented.

"Watch me."

"I'm trying to help him," Jiraiya responded, getting more and more frustrated but trying to get control of his emotions. "He has talent in sealing, something I can help with. He has shown talents in ninjutsu, something I'm proficient in. He has potential, something I have proven able to grow into reality."

"Then you can do that in the future but right now he is my student and until Hokage-sama tells me otherwise then he is my responsibility. Not yours."

"Then where were you when he was attacked?" Jiraiya nearly bit his tongue when those words got out of his mouth. He looked at the woman to see a startled look in her eyes. Obviously she hadn't known that fact.

Anko shook her and glared back. "He had a day off. Trust me, no one would have laid a finger on him had I been there."

"But you weren't" Jiraiya pointed out.

"And you won't always be there either."

"And right now both of you need to be quiet." The pair turned their eyes to Midori who stood there were hands on her hips and a glare in her eyes. "You're making a scene. Mitarashi-san, if you wish to stay then I ask that you please be quiet." Getting a scoff followed by a nod was enough for the med-nin before she turned to the second culprit of the noise. "I am sorry to say Jiraiya-sama but what she says is true. Since you are not a family member, sensei or Hokage-sama then you cannot be here right now. I respectfully ask that you leave here in a timely manner."

Jiraiya sighed and scowled at the victoriously smirking Anko. "This isn't over young lady," he snarled. He began to walk through the halls and exited the hospital in a bad mood.

Anko saw him walk away with a satisfied smile on her face, she turned back to the med-nin. Her smile turned to confusion when she saw the glare was still there. "What?" she asked the glaring Hyuga before her.

"Why are _you_ here?" Midori questioned. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised a questioning eyebrow at the purple-haired kunoichi.

"As I said, I'm here for my apprentice. I heard the maggot got hurt and was being brought to the hospital." Anko looked around the Hyuga trying to see where they had taken said apprentice. She growled in annoyance when the green haired Hyuga moved in front of her view. "I'm here to check up on him, ok?"

"How did you find out about him being hurt? He hasn't been here longer than twenty minutes," Midori explained.

Anko shrugged. "Perks of being a part of the T&I Division. Word gets around quickly about stuff like that, especially about one of our own. Word got to me quickly when one of the Chunin saw the old pervert carrying Naruto to the hospital. I was done with my meetings for the day so I came to check on him."

Midori hummed. She turned on her heels and motioned for Anko to follow. "Fine then come with me."

Anko followed and entered the room to see Naruto splayed out on the bed and snoring. Anko just shook her head and chuckled. "Gaki is feeling better alright. Snores like that after a good work out. I give him three hours before he's up and ready to go."

Midori nodded. "I will give him a check up before he is allowed to leave. Come and get me when he wakes."

Anko went and sat in a chair next his bed when the Hyuga exited the room. She reached into her trench coat and pulled out a magazine that read _Kunai Quarterly_ across the top with a picture of a famed blacksmith on the cover. She hummed as she went through the magazine's articles and buying selections.

"Oooo these look nice and sharp."

•••••

Midori looked at the clock and saw it was reading eight o'clock. She was on shift for another two hours and was beginning to feel tired but remembered that she had yet to take her afternoon break. She stretched from behind her desk and stood up with a groan. It was moments like these she missed the days of being a mission medic. While she enjoyed her work at the hospital it could be argued that the stationary lifestyle made her more sore than an average mission.

She walked through the halls until she came to Hinata's room. She knocked on the side of frame and leaned against it. Hinata was sitting in bed reading through a book that her sister had brought her earlier in the day. Hinata looked up and smiled.

"H-hello Midori-san," Hinata welcomed the Hyuga medic.

"Good evening Hinata," Midori greeted. "Did you enjoy your dinner?" Hinata nodded timidly. "Good, then it's time to go for a walk and get some fresh air, plus it's around sunset, perfect time to go out for a walk."

"Ok Midori-san," Hinata complied. She grimaced, her body protesting to the movement, as she got out of bed. She put a hand on Midori's shoulder, who had come over to help her patient, to stabilize her wobbly legs.

"You going to be ok to walk on your own?" the med-nin asked. "I can go get a walker for you."

Hinata shook her head. She took a deep breath and took her first steps forward. "I-I'll be alright. Just a little sore." Hinata began to walk, still on shaky legs, out the door of her room. She felt her confidence grow until her steps were more steadied, like she had not been in surgery just days ago.

The two Hyugas walked in amicable silence before Midori smiled softly. "Would you mind if we checked on another patient of mine before we go outside?" Getting the affirming nod she wanted, Midori turned to a door the pair was walking towards. She opened it to a sound of arguing.

"Ow what was that for Anko-sensei?"

"For being a baka! What were you thinking training out in the middle of nowhere? There are plenty of training grounds within the village walls."

Hinata froze mid-step when the voice hit her ears. She looked to Midori who was sporting a Cheshire grin. She waved her in. Hinata timidly walked in, messing with her fingers as she did.

"But then people would see Ish-" Naruto stopped when Anko slapped a hand over his mouth. She had noticed the door open when he hadn't. She didn't know how much the Sannin member knew, or if he'd blab to the Hokage, but the fewer people that knew about her apprentice's furry, little secret the less likely she was to get into trouble. Secrecy about something like a summoning contracts would probably not sit well with her superiors.

Naruto looked at his sensei with a raised eyebrow before he noticed the two newest occupants of the room. He swatted Anko's hand away before smiling brightly at the two Hyugas. "Hey Hinata-chan, Midori-san!" Realization hit him when he said Hinata's name. "Hinata-chan, you're walking! You must be feeling a lot better!"

Hinata felt her face heat up but still offered a small smile. She nodded her head and looked at the foot of Naruto's bed. "I-I feel much better. Y-your gifts helped a lot, arigato Naruto-kun."

"Uh yeah of course. I know how bad the food tastes here so I thought it would help." Naruto looked from Hinata to Midori. "No offense Midori-san."

Midori shook her head. "None taken Uzumaki-san. There is a reason I prepare my own bento boxes for lunch."

"A-are you alright Naruto-kun?" Hinata squeaked. She was worried by the sight of his attire, which was ripped, shredded and had what looked like blank ink on it.

Anko interrupted the excitable Genin. "He just got into a training accident. Right gaki?"

"Uh yeah," Naruto nodded when he saw the slight glare from his sensei. "Just working on a new jutsu and well . . . didn't exactly work as planned."

"Wh-what jutsu?" Hinata asked quietly.

Naruto perked right up at the question. "It's this awesome clan jutsu I just got. The old man gave me this scroll that belonged to my Kaa-chan. I was working on it when . . . well when things didn't go as planned." Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Are you referring to Hokage-sama, Uzumaki-san?" Midori asked. Naruto just smiled and nodded. "Do you think it is wise to refer to the Hokage in such a disrespectful manner?"

"Don't waste your breath," Anko told her, waving off the Hyuga medic. "I've had the same conversation with the maggot. Goes in one ear and out the other."

"Hey jiji has been the closest thing to family that I've ever had," Naruto commented with a huff of indignation. "Well except now I guess." Naruto reached over to the table on the side of his bed and produced his mother's scroll. "This has a bunch of my Kaa-chan's jutsus and memories and stuff. Isn't it awesome Hinata-chan?"

Hinata stared at the scroll for a bit, recognizing the swirl that was painted on its side. She had seen that seal before in a few pictures of her mother when she was younger. While it wasn't on her mom, one of her friends always wore it prominently on her clothes.

"Hinata-chan?"

Hinata turned bright red when she noticed Naruto was talking to her. She started stuttering and looking at her fingers that she was playing with in front of her. "Um y-yes Naruto-kun?"

"Is something wrong? You totally spaced out there for a bit," Naruto commented. Anko had to stop herself from smacking her apprentice on the head. He had a lot to learn about reading people. Actual interrogations were going to be a pain she thought with a headache.

"Go-Gomen Naruto-kun. I-I-I was just thinking . . ." Hinata's eyes danced quickly around before stopping on the setting sun peaking through the blond Genin's window. "I-I was thinking about walking outside. Ma-Maybe y-you'd like to come with m-me," she squeaked out, her face growing bright red. She didn't know what possessed her to ask him, but that smile gave her hope and courage to take the risk and at least ask.

Naruto beamed a dazzling smile at the timid Hyuga. "That sounds great Hinata-chan! A walk would be a perfect thing to get these kinks out. Still a little sore but other than that I feel great!"

"That is good to hear Uzumaki-san," Midori responded with a curt nod. "I was planning on preforming a quick check-up and possibly releasing you since your others cuts and scrapes seemed to be superficial at best."

After a quick check-up and dismissal from the Hyuga medic, along with a farewell from the snake mistress, the pair of Genin found themselves walking around in an amicable silence. Advised to do one trip, maybe two, around the hospital at most the duo began their walk. Hinata played with her fingers and took sideways glances at her walking partner. She couldn't place it but he seemed more at peace than she had ever seen the excitable blond. His smile was still warm but it was subdued, the smile that comes only when one thinks of a subject that brings peace and harmony to a person who hadn't felt it before.

Deciding that the silence had dragged on long enough, Hinata spoke up. "Y-You seem re-really happy Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned to his friend, his smile never fading. "Yeah, I am Hinata-chan," he answered with a calm tone. Naruto couldn't explain it. He was so happy, so thrilled about the day, about finding out about his mother, about getting to walk with a friend and even his fight with Satomi. He was so happy, but the more his mind wandered to his mother's scroll, the calmer he got. "I finally got to know my Kaa-chan, even if it's her jutsus, it's something. I never thought I'd have anything from my clan, let alone from my mother. Being told how awesome of a kunoichi she was, how she was super strong was something more than I could ever ask for." His smile grew a little sad, he moved his eyes to the ground as the pair continued to walk.

"I guess the best thing though is that I finally learned she didn't abandon me. I haven't told anyone this, but my biggest fear was that my parents didn't want me, that they saw me as a burden and just abandoned me," Naruto said before chuckling softly and scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry you had to hear all that Hinata."

Hinata shook her head. While she did empathized and even sympathized, after all she had lost her mother at a young age, she was happy he was opening up to her. It made her feel special and even strong. He was talking to _her_ for support, he was telling _her_ his fears. She could actually be there for him this time. He had supported her, given her so much confidence and courage, and now she could repay that even if it was just a little bit.

"It-It's ok, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a little more confidence in her voice. "I don't mind listening. I-I'm just glad I can help. And, f-for what it's worth, she'd be proud of you."

Naruto looked at her with a small smile. "You really think so Hinata-chan?"

Hinata looked into his sapphire eyes and nodded. "I know she would be and I-I am too."

"Thanks Hinata-chan. That means a lot."

•••••

Hyuga Midori hummed as she walked into the room of the last patient check-up she'd have to make before going home and climbing into her nice, comfy bed. She walked in and looked to see Hinata smiling down and a small plush fox.

"How was your walk with Uzumaki-san?" she asked with a smile on her face.

Hinata didn't look up, but Midori could see a soft pink dusted across her cheeks that was joined with a soft smile. "It-It was really nice."


	27. Chains and Taijutsu

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. I'm excited for the next few chapters and can't wait to start writing. Happy Holidays everybody! I know this is a little late but enjoy this time with friends and family!**

 **Like always tell me what you think of this chapter, your thoughts, likes dislikes and what you think I can improve on! I'm always looking for ways to improve.**

 **Now sit back, relax and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 27**

Ishiri bobbed up and down, glaring at his partner as he hung from a chain that was wrapped around one of his hind legs. "Really Naruto? This is the jutsu training you had planned for today?"

Naruto just gave his partner an ear-to-ear smile, his hands still holding the ram seal up. "Bruno-sensei did say you were putting on a few pounds since we started fuinjutsu training. I'm just trying to help you shed some of that extra fluff Ishiri."

"Yeah and your crazy sensei doesn't like dango," Ishiri retorted. His eyes widened when he felt a senbon whiz past his fur.

"Hey don't go dragging me into this mess," Anko said. She sat on the balcony overlooking the inner stadium in the Forest of Death. The place had turned into their near-permanent training ground. It gave them medical equipment incase something went wrong, a place to start from when they practiced tracking and also privacy so Naruto could summon his foxes. All in all it was perfect, no one used it other than themselves.

"And why aren't you the one jumping around and dodging these things?" Ishiri questioned the purple haired kunoichi. "You would seem a better option considering Naruto isn't going to be facing any kitsune enemies any time soon."

"I hate to admit it but you're quicker than me mutt," Anko said, her mouth stuffed with dango. She swallowed the treat and sighed in content. "Besides we saw what happened when you tried to intercept one of those chains. Not exactly stellar results aye?" Ishiri looked to his tail that was still wrapped in bandages. He had tried to deflect one of the chains with a jutsu that lit his tail on fire, it hadn't worked out as planned. "This way the gaki gets to practice his control on a quicker target while there is someone that can deflect it if the chains go wild and he loses control."

Ishiri grumbled something incoherent about snakes and dango before barking at his partner. "Oi, Naruto-baka, let me go!"

Naruto just shrugged before dropping his seal. Ishiri let out a shriek as he fell. He hit the ground with a thud, ending in a crumpled mess on the ground. He got up and stretched, shaking his body of any kinks.

"I'm starting to hate those chains," he muttered.

It had been two weeks since Naruto got Kushina's scroll and hadn't wasted a second in his training. Between the chains, the seals he had been working on to seal chakra, and his other lessons, Naruto had been kept busy. His clones were making great strides in the seal, actually making a working prototype, if you consider not killing both the clone it was used on and the one applying the seal a success. He had gotten a decent mastery of one chain and had been working on a second chain, although that till posed issues for the young Genin. Even his other seals for Suzuki had been a success despite it resulting in an explosion that redesigned the interior of the Kitsune Library.

"You gonna go and see that Hyuga girl again?" Anko asked from her perch. It seemed like Naruto and his partner were done for the day, she looked over at the clock to see it nearly three o'clock in the afternoon. The small team had been going since seven that morning.

Naruto faced scrunched at the thought. "Nah those teme guards won't let me in to see her." Hinata had been released a few days after their walk, and while he could see her when she was in the hospital he hadn't been allowed to see her since. Even Midori couldn't help him.

Anko fell from the perch on the balcony. She landed on her feet and walked over to the two partners. "Yeah that sounds about right for the Hyuga. Had a friend who tried to break in once chasing tail, didn't work out so well." Anko shot Naruto a skeptical gaze. "Don't getting any funny ideas about that either."

"About what?" Naruto asked.

Anko sighed, her gaki was really an idiot sometimes. "About breaking into that compound to see her. Won't exactly work out you know."

"I figured that'd be something you'd encourage me to do," he pointed out. "Hell I'm surprised you wouldn't use it as one of your 'field tests'. You had me sneak into Ibiki's office for Kami's sake. I thought he was gonna catch me!"

"Hey that was a really important mission gaki," Anko snarled.

"You wanted information about your bonus!" he shouted in shock.

"Extra dango money is important gaki," she said with a chuckle. "Have to budget correctly. Kunai, dango, sake, these are things that need a budget. How else would I be able to be this awesome?"

"Don't budget much for new clothes do you?" Ishiri muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Anko ask with a sickly sweet smile.

Ishiri and Naruto shivered in fear. That was the smile Ahri would give them before putting the pair into an intense genjutsu. "Nothing," Ishiri shouted with a smile.

"That's what I thought." Anko smirked at the response. She like putting the fear of Kami into the duo. "As for the Hyuga, they don't appreciate people skulking around their compound. There's been a few incidents that have them weary. They kill first and ask questions later and honestly there isn't much the council can do about that. They can always say they were defending clan property and saw a threat and dealt with it. Weak excuse but an excuse the Hokage will buy. My advice is to relax and be patient. She'll be out eventually and you can talk to her then."

"True. Guess I can always go and train with Shikamaru and Team Ten. I'm sure Asuma-sensei wouldn't mind the extra help," Naruto pondered.

"There ya go gaki," Anko said with a pat on Naruto's back. The small group had begun to walk out of the tower. Ishiri would return eventually on their excursion out of the Forest of Death but till then the group enjoyed their walk. "It'll be good work for you and that'll free me up for some fun this afternoon. Got a lot of work to catch up on."

"What dango shop are you hitting up today?" Naruto asked with a deadpanned expression.

"The market that's here for the Chunin Exams. They always have the most exotic flavors," Anko said with a shiver of delight.

•••••

Hinata stood there in the family room of her house, staring at a photo. In the photo stood her parents albeit younger. Her mother had a beautiful smile on her lips while her father had a small stoic smile. If anyone else were to look at the photo they would think her father was annoyed. In between them was a woman with bright red hair and a thousand-watt smile that reminder her of Naruto's. She held a peace sign up using both hands, her arms wrapped around her parents shoulders. She wore a light yellow, short-sleeved kimono-like blouse that was tied with a black belt along her midsection. She wore black shorts underneath along with a pair of black ninja sandals that came up to her thighs.

What really drew her in was the small, red swirl that was embroidered above her heart. It was just like the one that was on the scroll that Naruto had shown her. Behind the trio was a beautiful temple that also had that same red swirl. It had vibrant red pillars and rails with stone steps that led up to its entrance that was two wooden doors. Hinata had never seen such a sight in Konoha.

"Good morning Hinata."

Hinata nearly jumped out her skin when her father's voice shook her from her thoughts. Standing at the entrance was her father. Hinata stumbled a little bit before bowing deeply.

"Uh . . . uh gomen Otou-sama. Good morning," Hinata stuttered out. She looked up to see a questioning look in father's eyes.

"I thought you had a team meeting today?" he pointed out in a voice that cut her deep.

"Gomen, Kurenai-sensei gave us the day off so Shino-kun can train with his father," she explained. Her father nodded before walking past. Getting the nerve to finally ask she spun around. "Wait Otou-sama," she shouted even to her surprise.

Hiashi turned and looked at her with a brow raised. Hinata was not known to be to elevate her volume. Hinata gulped when she felt his eyes on her. "Yes?"

"I-I wanted to ask who that was in the photo," Hinata pointed to the picture of her parents and that mysterious woman. She saw her father walk to the photo and stare at it before closing his eyes and walking towards the hallway that would lead to his office.

"She was a friend of your mother's and also a member of my own Genin squad," he explained.

"What was her name?" she asked quietly.

Hiashi paused at the door, his back still toward her. "Uzumaki Kushina."

"Wh-What happened to her?"

"She died a while back," he said shortly before exiting and closing the door behind him.

Hinata felt her shoulders slump and her hope deflate. She had been hoping that her father would open up and actually talk to her more about it. Instead he did what he always did when her mother came up: he kept his answers short and curt with little explanation.

She looked to see that small smile on his face in the picture, the youthful look in his eyes. He seemed so much happier. Maybe it was the Uzumaki name? Maybe that name just brought happiness to everyone. Hinata remembered Naruto talking about his clan and his mother. _Maybe this temple is still standing? I bet Naruto-kun would like to know about this._

•••••

Naruto jumped through training ground after training ground looking for Team Ten and their chain-smoking teacher. He had been told they'd be in one of the many training grounds that littered the village and its outskirts but he was coming up with blanks.

He sighed as he dashed from another empty training ground and onto the next. He wasn't even halfway there before he could here the sounds of grunting and a rhythmical thumping. He dropped from a tree branch and into the clearing to see multiple dummies sprayed around the grounds in various conditions. Some were shattered in half, others were buried chest high in the ground and still others looked like they had a hole through their chests.

Naruto looked at the devastation before noticing the young Genin in the middle of the mess. Rock Lee was standing and kicking the stone pillar that resided in the center of the grounds. While his kicks were rhythmical, Naruto could tell that each kick was more labored than the last. He could faintly hear the green-clad shinobi muttering something.

"If I cannot do a thousand kicks with my right leg then I will do a thousand kicks with my left. If I cannot do a thousand kicks with my left then I will do two hundred push-ups," Lee challenged himself in a dazed manner.

Naruto looked on and listened as each challenge got harder and the punishment more severe until the ninja slipped and fell. Lee coughed, sweat dropping off of him at an almost inhuman amount. He sat on his knees and used the pillar to push him back into a standing position.

"I could not do a thousand kicks with my right leg therefore I must do a thousand kicks with my left," he barked out. To Naruto's amazement Lee got into a fighting stance and continued kicking the pillar. It didn't last long though before he fell on his butt.

Lee felt his frustration grow even more at his most recent failure. He had been at it, training his ass off, since late the previous night. He thought that he was making great progress, he thought he was finally catching his biggest rival until he heard Tenten rave about _his_ progress. She praised _him_ in a way she never encouraged himself. That's what made Lee the most irate, the fact Tenten acknowledged Neji so readily but not him.

Lee reached into his pouch and retrieved a small red pill. He had taken two already, but needed the boost. He needed to get better to prove people wrong. He needed to prove that he was right, that his sensei was right. _'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.'_ That mantra echoed in his head as he brought the pill to his mouth before a voice stopped him.

"Those will kill you, ya know?"

Lee turned to see a blond haired shinobi clad in a baggy orange shirt with black shinobi pants and a skintight black undershirt. There were cuts and sweat marks across his frame, from hard work.

"It is a risk I'm willing to take," Lee said with a new sense of drive.

"Why?" Lee looked at the blond as if he was insane. "What's so important that you're willing to take such a risk?"

"I-I need to get stronger so I can beat a genius. So I can prove that my nindo, my shinobi way is just as good as that of a genius."

"Yeah I understand that," Naruto said with a hum. He looked to the bright blue sky and smiled faintly. "Better ways than killing yourself though. How long have you been out here?"

"Since six o'clock-"

"Damn you do work," Naruto said with a whistle.

"-last night."

"Ok that's it we're taking a break and going and getting some ramen," Naruto said with a chuckle. He walked over and swatted the pill from Lee's hand and grabbed him by the arm. Naruto bent over and slung the arm around his neck, lifting the taijutsu expert up until he was leaning on Naruto.

Lee groaned and pushed Naruto away. "No I need to keep training and getting better. I need to do this my way if I have any chance of beating Neji in the finals. I'm going to finally beat Neji and finally Tenten will praise me too."

"Well your way is gonna get you killed." Naruto now understood why Anko was so adamant about going to the spa and her numerous trips out eating and drinking. The sight of a tired, depleted and zombie-like Rock Lee was a sobering wake up call. "How about we make a bet then."

Lee shook his head. "Guy-sensei warned us about gambling. He called it one of the cardinal sins of a shinobi."

"Fine then consider it challenge," Naruto offered. Not hearing a response, he pressed on. "We'll have a spar. I win and you stop for a break, some food and maybe a nap. You win I leave here with a few bruises and you carry on your training."

"Yosh I would never back down from such a youthful challenge," Lee shouted, albeit with little energy. "When do we start?"

"Now."

Before Lee could even respond, a fist was connecting with his jaw. He stumbled back before taking another shot to his mid section. Naruto took a knee and jerk it up into the face of the doubled-over Lee. Lee's head rocked back leaving his midsection exposed for a roundhouse kick to land from Naruto. The kick sent him flying back into the stone pillar. Feeling his opponent was down for the count Naruto launched forward with a scream, his right hand cocked back into a fist. He threw it forward only for his eyes to go wide when Lee had some how caught the punch.

Lee looked up, a cut visible above his right eye, with a small smile. "It isn't polite to surprise a comrade like that," he said before throwing his free hand forward.

Naruto parried the blow but had to jump back to avoid the spinning kick of the taijutsu expert. Lee shot forward and Naruto found himself on the back foot. He parried and dodged strike after strike before finding his opening. Lee overextended on a punch, which Naruto sidestepped with ease. Naruto grabbed the offending appendage with his hand that was closest to Lee leaving his outside hand free. Taking his opening Naruto connected a punch to Lee's kidney before pulling the arm back. He heard a sickening sound from the captured arm and a scream of pain from Lee.

Naruto threw the arm down and spun Lee. He connected two more punches with his opponent's jaw and another kick to the sternum that sent the green shinobi into the stone pillar again.

"You're getting sloppy because you're tired. These mistakes you're making now aren't helping you at all. You just got beat at your own game," Naruto tried to reason with the downed shinobi, but Lee wouldn't listen.

"I . . . I'm not done yet." To Naruto's amazement Lee got up. He heard a click before Lee vanished. Next thing Naruto knew he was flying back from a kick. Naruto went on the defensive again as Lee put on more and more pressure. Naruto could hear his bones creak with each punch. Lee was letting him have it.

 _I've got to get out of this some how._ Naruto parried more and more punches before ducking and taking a swipe at his opponent's legs. He got his desired result, Lee jumped back and gave himself some distance. Naruto did the same thing and brought two fingers from each hand up into a cross.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Five clones appeared around him. One reached back into his kunai pouch and produced a tag while the others rushed forward. The real Naruto opened a scroll up in front of him and activated a seal before vanishing from sight in a cloud of smoke.

The four clones rushed Lee who also launched himself forward. Two clones met him straight on with a punch each. Lee caught both punches and pushed them outward toward the two clones who were trying to circle around. He jumped in the air. "Leaf Hurricane," he shouted as he spun. The kick sent the clones barreling into their compatriots at such a speed that all four clones popped.

No sooner had Lee landed on the ground, he found himself wrapped up tight with a weird chain that glowed blue. The chain wrapped around his midsection and kept his arms close to his body. He turned to see Naruto standing behind a scroll, that the chain was coming out of, holding a hand sign. Lee was so focused on the real Naruto that he missed the clone that came up behind him and placed a seal on the base of his neck. The clone jumped back and made his own hand sign. "Fuin," the clone muttered.

Suddenly Lee felt a huge weight on his body. The weight was so enormous that it brought him to his knees. He tried to push himself up but finally succumbed and hit the ground. Now lying on the ground face down the chains stopped glowing, their color turning back into the grey of steel. He tried to move but stopped when he felt a knee on his back and a kunai to his throat.

"You lose this round Lee," Naruto said while breathing decently hard. It had been a workout on top of what he had already done with Anko and Ishiri earlier in the day. He was glad that little extra work with the chakra chains had paid off.

"What did you do to me?" Lee struggled to ask from his position on the ground.

"Weight seal. The more chakra used in the sealing the heavier it gets. Learned it about a weak ago. Didn't know how much to add, glad I didn't kill you," Naruto said with a chuckle.

"I really am a failure than huh? If my taijutsu is always going to fail to some jutsu I don't have shot a of learning."

Naruto shook his head and deactivated the seal. He picked his opponent up and slung an arm around his neck in support. "Not at all. Your taijutsu is the best around, well at least in our age group. Few people can handle your speed and one or two punches is all it would take for anybody to think twice about continuing a fight with you."

"But you fought back and even got the better of me if a few of our trades. Very un-youthful for someone who is suppose to be a taijutsu expert," Lee said somberly. He had rarely lost to anyone other than Neji in a spar, yet here was this new kid he had never met and he had stayed with him using taijutsu, his own specialty.

"Nah I wouldn't look too much into it. You were tired; you got sloppy. Even with that though you were still able to get the better of me at the end. I just used something you weren't expecting," Naruto explained with a smile. "I bet after a long, goodnight sleep you'd be able to kick my butt up and down this training ground, but don't think I'd let you do it that easily."

"That would be a most youthful rematch," Lee agreed with a small smile. It felt good for someone other than his sensei to encourage him and give him praise. He had to admit that the spar was fun and the whiskered boy was spirited. "I never got a name. I have to know my rivals name!"

"Rival huh?" Naruto looked at the hobbled shinobi with a smile. "Ok bring it on then, I won't back down from a fight. You can call me Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto."

Lee's eyes grew wide at the name. He recognized it from the written portion of the exam. And now that he took a closer look he also recognized that the guy who just beat him was the same assistant at the first and second stage. He laughed. "Another genius for a rival."

Naruto snorted at that. "First time anyone's called me that. I'm used to being called 'baka' or 'dobe'. I was labeled as the dead last in my class for the longest time even when I improved. Nah I'm a lot like you Lee, I got better through hard work and determination."

"How do you know so much about me?" Lee asked in mild shock.

"When you're called a genius of hard work then you gain a reputation, one that travels." Naruto looked in front as they walked along the path, a failure holding up another failure, two people who had been dealt a bad hand but continued on. "After what I just saw I would say I have to agree with them: you're a genius of hard work."

Lee looked from the jinchuriki to the ground as the words raced in his mind. A soft smile reached his lips. His head looked back up to the road ahead, a renewed vigor in his beaten visage. "I see more youthful challenges in our future Naruto-kun."

"I'd like that Lee," Naruto said with a thousand-watt smile.

•••••

Hinata walked around and fiddled with her hands. She looked to the corner of her to see her team walking next to her. Kurenai had a small, content smile on her lips, Kiba's grin was wide as he watched Akamaru zigzag across the street they were walking, and Shino walked with his calm demeanor. The team was returning from a training session, well training for Shino.

Kiba and Kurenai had put him through the ringer to get him prepared for the finals that were only days away. Hinata had watched from a distance, her injuries still not allowing her to participate in team activities. Still she enjoyed her time outside and out of the walls of the Hyuga compound.

The group was now walking through the streets looking for a place to eat. They were still in the more industrial area when a building caught Hinata's attention. She paused and turned to see the Konoha Library standing there. The building itself was very ordinary, red bricks with a faded sign and dulled windows. Being in a shinobi village, the more civilian centered buildings were often overlooked.

Hinata stared intently at the door before she squeaked when a yip broke through her thoughts. Hinata looked down to Akamaru who put his paws on her knee and stood on his hind legs. She bent down and scratched him behind his ears earning a low growl of appreciation.

"Hey Hinata why'd ya stop?" Hinata turned to see Kiba and the rest of Team Eight walking her way. "Are you feeling alright?" Kiba asked with a slight hesitation.

Hinata shook her head and looked down at her feet. She stood up and twiddled with her fingers. "Gomen I . . . Um I just saw this building and thought of something."

"A library? Why would you want to go to something like that?" Kiba asked with a confused look on his face.

"There are things that can't always be taught on the battlefield Kiba," Kurenai teased her student. "Maybe if you had actually read your textbooks in the academy you'd know that."

"Hey I read enough to pass," Kiba whined. He turned back to Hinata, ignoring the giggle that came from his sensei. "So why'd this place catch your attention?"

"W-well there is something I want to l-look up," Hinata squeaked out. "I was hoping they'd have something here."

"Hey Akamaru and I can help you. What do you say buddy?" Kiba's response was a whine from his partner. "Don't be a chicken Akamaru it isn't going to be that bad."

"I don't think that is a good idea," Shino said from Kiba's side. "They won't let Akamaru in and last I checked he use to eat your textbooks."

"That was because he was a puppy," Kiba defended his ninken.

"You fed it to him."

"Gomen Kiba-kun bu-but I'll be ok. I don't want you to have to leave Akamaru outside," Hinata said meekly.

"You sure you don't need any help Hinata?" Kurenai offered assistance this time. Seeing Hinata nod her head, she decided to drop the subject. "Well then if you need any help then you know where to find us. We'll save some barbeque for you. Come on you two, we'll have some lunch and get back to work."

Kiba looked from Hinata to the rest of his team that had turned and began walking to the restaurant of their choosing. He looked back before sighing and reluctantly followed. "Hey wait for me!"

Hinata looked back and entered the building. She stood there and fiddled with her fingers as she looked around the library. The library had some old oak tables with lamps on them in the middle of the large room with rows and rows of books and scrolls around with the tables. She walked in and looked at the various aisles.

"Can I help you?" an elderly woman asked. The woman had snow white hair that was pulled up into a clean bun. She wore glasses that covered a few of the wrinkles around her eyes. She gave her a warm smile. She reminded Hinata of a kind grandma. She wore simple clothes and it was obvious she was a civilian.

"Um a-are there any scrolls with village layouts?" Hinata asked curiously.

The woman's smile turned to confusion. She blinked her eyes a few times before smiling again and nodding. "Yes we do. Maps of the city are public knowledge, well mostly. There are some things the Hokage keeps secret. You shinobi and your secrets," she said in a teasing manner.

She led the young Hyuga to the back of the library where it was a bit darker. Hinata noticed some dust that had settled on the shelves of the public records section. The librarian seemed to notice this. "It's hard to keep this place clean. I don't have much help and few people visit. Civilians tend to go to the capital for any research or to help their studies and the shinobi have their own records so they don't visit much either."

"It must be hard to feel left out," Hinata empathized with the older woman.

She only got a shake of the head. "I love books, I've never had to work a day in my life. Sure it can get lonely but whenever I can get to help a young thing like you it always makes my day. Too many kids these days ignore books. Makes this old heart feel good that a member of the younger generation still remembers this place." She stopped and looked around before smiling and nodding. "Here you go miss. These are all the building records of civilian and municipal buildings in Konoha. If you need any help then I'd be more than happy to assist you."

"Arigato," Hinata said with a small bow. She took the most recent book and walked to one the tables. She sat down and began to flip through the book. Thirty minutes went buy before she closed it with a sigh. _Maybe I need to go back a bit further._

Hinata repeated this process for hours until she closed the final book, the tenth she had gone through, and put it on top of the ever-growing stack. She sighed again and shook her head with a sad look in her eyes. She hadn't found a thing during her search. She had seen a few plots of lands change hands, building constructed and demolished but no sign of a temple fitting the description she saw in the picture. All the other temples and shrines she found were in the middle of the city or in areas she had remembered in her various walks through the area. She felt her enthusiasm slowly vanish.

"Haven't found what you were looking for?" Hinata turned to see the elderly librarian looking at her with a sad smile. Hinata simply shook her head. "Oh dear well maybe I can help. After all you are the only one here and it is my job to help those that need it."

"Um . . . well I'm looking for an old temple," Hinata explained. "It-It was out in the forests with red pillars and a red roof. It looked like it had a stone path leading up to it."

The old librarian put a finger under her chin and hummed thoughtfully. "Well that's peculiar, maybe we can find something in the Konoha history books," she thought. She walked over to a different area of the library and thumbed through rather large books. Hinata eyes traced the books and saw the history of all the hidden villages, a few clans, the warring clan era and even the shinobi wars. "Hmm it seems that this would be the best book," the white-haired woman said as she reached up and grabbed a small book from the shelf.

Hinata looked at the book that was now in her hands. _The History of Shrines and Temples of Hi no Kuni,_ the book's title read. She thanked the librarian and returned to her desk.

Hinata felt the little hope she had slip as she kept flipping through the book. She had to admit that some of the shrines and temples the book showed were beautiful and ornate, but they weren't what she was after. She was about to give up as she flipped a page near the end of the book. She froze when she stared at a picture of the Shodaime and his wife standing in an old black and white photo, but the building behind them was what really caught her attention.

"The Uzumaki Shrine?" Hinata mumbled as she read the passage. Her eyes were glued to the book as she continued reading. According to the book, the shrine had been built for the Shodaime's wife, Uzumaki Mito, so she could remember her homeland. It was said that it was an act of love from the fame Senju for his wife that also signified the bond between Konoha and the shinobi village of the Uzumaki, Uzushiogakure.

Hinata's eyes ran and ran through the information before finally finding the things she wanted to find out the most: where it was located. Just outside of Konoha's walls a few miles east. She took the book and nearly ran to the front where the librarian was.

"Is there a place where I can copy this?" she asked earnestly.

A few minutes later she went bounding out of the library with a few papers in a manila folder that she kept pressed to her chest. _Now to find Naruto-kun._

The elderly librarian just looked at the big stack of books left by the Hyuga heiress and sighed. "Kids these days don't know how to put their things back," she said with a mild annoyance.

•••••

Naruto and Anko walked through the streets and enjoyed the sights and sounds as the crowds had only grown larger and louder, the finals only being a day away. The duo had taken the day off, relatively speaking. They had an early morning spar followed by meetings at the T&I Division that involved security and evacuation measures if anything were to happen. Afterwards they walked around, got some ramen and of course Anko's dango.

Anko looked scanned for another sweet stand when her eyes fell on a sign that got her thinking. With one felt swoop she grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar and started dragging him to their new destination. "Come on saki time to teach something really important."

Hinata found herself walking around with Yuhi Kurenai and enjoying the festival around them. She had been disappointed when she couldn't find the whiskered blonde the previous day but was still enjoying her time, the manila folder still tucked in her jacket incase she were to come across his path.

The pair were walking and enjoying the sights when Kurenai stopped, a distinct voice hitting her ears. "Oi barkeep, two shots of your best whiskey."

"Really Anko-chan?" Kurenai piped as she broke through the crowd to see a stand that was selling alcohol from a neighboring country. "Poisoning your apprentice this young?"

Anko turned with a smile on her face, dango stick between her teeth. "I'm just making sure the gaki knows what good alcohol tastes like and make sure his first drink is with someone that will protect him."

"Like you did when we went out with Genma for his birthday last year? You got him so drink he couldn't hold a senbon his mouth," Kurenai said with a gleam in her eyes.

"I just made sure he had a good time," Anko said with a smile.

"Is that why you blackmailed him?" Kurenai asked with a smile of her own.

"We both know that Kato Shizune won't be returning anytime soon," Anko said with a wave of her hand. "Besides it was an easy way to get free dango for a month."

"You hired a prostitute and took pictures to make it look like her slept with her," Kurenai said deadpanned.

Anko just shrugged her shoulder. "It was a fun night, I don't remember you complaining when you left with a certain smok-" Anko was interrupted when Kurenai slapped a hand over her mouth. Anko swatted it away and started laughing. She stopped when she heard a clang of two glasses on the stands bar. "Oi gaki, bottoms up," she said as she handed one glass to her apprentice who had been watching the exchange with little interest. She took her own glass and clanged it on the glass Naruto was holding before shooting back. She gulped it down and slammed it on the bar with a sigh of satisfaction, the burning feeling good going down her throat.

Naruto looked at the glass and took a sniff, reeling a bit when the smell hit his nostrils. "This is suppose to taste good?"

"It's an acquired taste," Anko told him. "Now stop being a wimp and shoot it back gaki, you're embarrassing me."

Naruto sighed and threw his head back, downing the drink in one gulp. He coughed when he felt the taste burn into his taste buds and the liquid burn his throat as it went down. "This is disgusting," Naruto said through coughs.

"A-are you ok Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up, a wide smile blossoming on his face when he saw Hinata standing there, her hands clasped in front of her. He nodded. "Yeah Hinata-chan! Anki-sensei is just trying to kill me with this disgusting stuff."

Anko hit her apprentice on the head before turning to the bartender. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. That is some good stuff, smooth with a pleasant burn." Anko's smile grew wider, she could have fun with this situation. She turned to the two female members of Team Eight. "Oi Kurenai-chan, how would you and your gaki like to have a few drinks with me and mine? I was thinking about vodka next then ordering a bottle of sake and walking around the festival some more."

"Uhuh Anko-chan, not happening. I know what that smile and gleam in your eyes means no good," Kurenai said in a accusatory tone.

Anko feigned hurt as she put a hand over her heart. "Kurenai-chan I'm hurt that you would accuse me of such a thing. I'm only teaching my student about the better parts of life."

"I've heard that one before," Kurenai said with a smile. "Besides I have to get Hinata back home soon. Kiba's running around with Akamaru somewhere and Shino is taking the day off preparing for tomorrow." She turned to Hinata with a small smile. "Let's go Hinata."

"You're such a spoil sport," Anko pouted before turning back and ordering two shots of vodka and a bottle of sake.

Hinata was about to follow her sensei before she remembered something. She turned back and looked at the blond Genin. "N-Naruto-kun I found something you m-might like," Hinata said shyly as she produced the manila folder.

Naruto looked curiously at the folder before opening it and staring wide-eyed at the title. Anko looked over his shoulder with equal wide eyes. "Damn didn't know there was such a thing in Konoha," she said with a whistle.

"Where did you find this Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, an awed look on his face.

"W-well Otou-sama has a picture of it in the f-family room and I just thought you'd like to know," she squeaked. She turned beat red when Naruto wrapped her in a bear-hug. She tried her hardest to not pass out.

"This is fantastic Hinata-chan! You're the best," he shouted enthusiastically getting many patrons to look at him with raised eyebrows.

"I-it was no-nothing Naruto-kun," she said softly before hearing Kurenai call for her. She turned to leave before feeling a hand grasping her wrist, she turned to see Naruto scratch his cheek with a smile.

"I was wondering, ya know if you didn't have any plans for tomorrow . . . if you wanted to go to the finals with me dattebayo," Naruto asked with slight embarrassment.

Hinata had to calm her racing heart. She felt her cheeks heat up. "I-I-I-I wo-would like tha-that N-Naruto-kun," she squeaked.

"Cool," Naruto said with a thousand watt smile. "How about we meet at the academy and then go to the stadium?" His only response was a nod before Hinata turned and ran into the crowd and the awaiting Kurenai.

Naruto watched the retreating Hyuga with a smile on his face. He lurched forward when Anko wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "That's my gaki! Way to ask her on a date Casanova," she teased with a smile before hearing the clang of two more glasses hitting the bar top.

"I-it isn't a date," Naruto defended before another drink was shoved into his hands.

"Yeah yeah and the Sarutobi's don't smoke. Now drink, we got more stuff to do today," she said before throwing her own shot back.

"But I wanna go check this shrine out," Naruto shrieked.

"You can do that before your date tomorrow. Now drink maggot."

•••••

Sabaku no Rasa was not a happy man at the moment. He was about to plunge his village into a war, an invasion of their only major ally and his partner in the matter was not holding up his part. Dressed in his Kazekage robes, the redhead paced before he heard a slithering sound.

Rasa and his bodyguards turned to see Orochimaru and a few of his own bodyguards materialize out of the rocky terrain of the border of Kaze no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni. He growled at the smile the Sannin member had on his face.

"What the hell were you thinking sending a shoddy Genin team? You promised that you'd be there during the invasion, that was part of the plan to take out the Hokage," he barked at the pale man before him.

"Kukuku my dear Kazekage I still intend to be at the finals. I have my own plans with a few of the Konoha shinobi," he purred.

"Yes, yes the Uchiha prodigy," Rasa waved off. "But tell me how you plan on being in attendance when you have no Genin in the finals?" he asked as he approached the Sannin member with clenched fists.

"I said I would be in attendance," Orochimaru said with a sickly smile. Before Rasa could react a sword was piercing his body. He looked up to see sickly yellow eyes accompanying an equally sickening smile. "I never said you'd be with me."


End file.
